Brazil debates privatisation of betting

Fixed-odds betting was to be privatised by executive decree, but must now pass Brazil’s lower house.

Brazil.- A new bill seeks to reverse the recent decision to privatise sports betting in Brazil.

Draft Legislative Decree (PDL) 375/20 presented by representative José Guimarães would annul the executive branch’s bid to include sports lotteries classed as “fixed-odds betting” in a national privatisation programme.

Guimarães told Brazilian press he believed that privatising betting would affect social sectors that receive financial support from lottery games run by Caixa Econômica Federa.

Under privatisation, fixed-odds lottery earnings would belong to the private company providing the service. Guimarães asked: “What is the point in giving lottery to the private sector? The Caixa lotteries are profitable, efficient, and guarantee resources for education, sports, culture and basic sanitation.”

According to Caixa, in 2019 the entity contributed US$1.1 billion to social programmes.

The bill will be debated by deputies in Brazil’s lower house. If approved, it could be a major setback for the regulation of gambling in the country.