Brazil sports betting vote postponed again
The Senate vote has been put back to next week.
Brasil.- The crucial Senate vote on Brazil’s sports betting bill has been postponed for a second time. A vote on Bill 3,626/23 had been scheduled for yesterday (6 December) after being put back from last week due to disagreements over the late inclusion of online casino gaming.
However, the Senate plenary postponed the vote for a second time. According to the proposal’s rapporteur, Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), the postponement occurred due to the absence of some senators who are at the United Nations climate conference (COP 28) in Dubai. It’s now expected that the bill will be voted on next week, on Tuesday December 12.
The matter is a priority for the economic team of finance minister, Fernando Haddad. Senators opposing the inclusion of online casinos have asked for a delay. Former rapporteur Adolfo Viana of the PSDB had proposed the addition of igaming to the bill in September, and the Chamber of Deputies approved the text.
However, several senators including Eduardo Girão and Carlos Portinho argue that there is no adequate framework for the regulation of online casino and that more consideration of the bill is needed since over 100 changes have been made since its submission to the Senate in September.
Other changes endorsed by the Senate Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) include a 12 per cent tax rate on sports betting operators and a 15 per cent tax on player prizes. These rates are lower than the 18 per cent and 30 per cent rates put forward by the Ministry of Finance. The CAE deemed that the lower tax rates were necessary to attract consumers and businesses to the new regulated federal sports betting market.
134 companies show interest in Brazilian sports betting licences
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has reported that it has received expressions of interest from 134 companies interested in gaining licences to join the future regulated sports betting market in Brazil. The Ministry had outlined the requirements for operators at the end of October in Ordinance 1330 and provided 30 days for companies to express their interest.
The requirements listed include the establishment of dedicated service centres for customer support. Licence applicants will have to maintain industry integrity and meet ethical and legal standards. They will be required to monitor for irregular or suspicious transactions and report them promptly to the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF).
Treasury advisor José Francisco Manssur said the number of expressions represented “the result of the constant dialogue between the Ministry of Finance and all segments of the market in the construction of a regulatory framework that is safe and reliable for everyone involved.”
