SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Senate of Brazil has updated its weekly schedule, announcing that a vote on Bill 3,626/23 to regulate a federal sports betting marketplace will take place on Wednesday 6 December.
The announcement was confirmed by the Senate’s gazette, declaring that the plenary session will vote on two federal laws on Wednesday, related to regulating sports betting and on working rights for Brazil’s homeless.
Wednesday vote will keep the mandate of Bill 3,626/23 including modalities to regulate ‘online casino games’, which caused last week’s postponement as opposition Senators demanded for further reviews to undertaken by the Chamber of Deputies.
Further developments saw the Ministry of Finance announce that 134 businesses have declared their interest in joining a pending federal regulated sports betting marketplace.
The update follows the Ministry publishing its ‘Ordinance No. 1330’ in November, detailing the specific requirements for businesses (foreign and domestic) to be eligible for a Brazilian sports betting license.
A pre-regulatory requisite, the ordinance was signed by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and gave businesses a 30-day window to declare their interest in joining the market.
Yesterday, an update was shared by Undersecretary José Francisco Manssur, who revealed that the Treasury had received applications from 134 businesses.
“The significant number of requests represents the result of the constant dialogue between the Ministry of Finance and all segments of this market, in the construction of a regulatory framework that is safe and reliable for everyone involved,” Manssur noted.
The ordinance forms part of the Treasury’s pre-licensing procedure, notifying interested parties of key requirements, resources, management duties, and technical demands needed to qualify for licensing.
Prior to market launch, the Treasury states that meeting its ordinance requirements does not imply that a business will be granted a license. Instead, the ordinance will aid the Treasury in its review of operators’ player protections, money laundering controls, conduct duties, and inspection of authorized managers for the Brazilian market.
The fiscal review undertaken by the Senate’s Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) settled on a licensing framework that will charge BRL 30m (€5.5m) to acquire a federal license, which will be valid for five years and allow operators to service three brands.
As of last week, the final vote on Bill 3,626/23 to approve Brazil’s federally regulated sports betting market stuck in the Senate. It was due to be voted on last Wednesday, but senators did not proceed with the vote as opposition urged for a delay to review the bill’s text to include online casino games.
In the Senate, opposition to online casinos maintains that the Bill’s modalities provide no adequate framework to regulate online casino games and must, therefore, be sent back to the Chamber of Deputies for review.
Brazilian stakeholders were awaiting for Senate leader Rodrigo Pacheco to intervene in the matter, who was not present at last week’s vote as he was attending the United Nations COP-28 Climate Summit in Dubai.
Since its submission to the Senate in September, Bill 3,626/23 has undergone more than 100 changes. Although the bill has been rectified by separate commissions, senators can still demand rapporteurs to submit changes.
