Brazil to block payments to offshore websites

As gambling legalisation keeps getting stalled in Brazil, the Senate is looking to block payments from gamblers to offshore gambling websites.

Brazil.- Gambling legalisation in Brazil is anything but close to get approved by the Congress due to political unrest surrounding the Lava Jato scandal. Not only that, but the Senate might soon ban gamblers from making payments to offshore gambling websites as a proposed bill was introduced to enforce the current prohibition in the country

Senator Ciro Nogueira introduced the PLS 213/2017, which aims to stop Brazilians from spending nearly US$951 million per year in offshore online gambling websites. The proposed legislation would close a “legislative loophole,” Gambling Insider reports, as local-based companies are banned from offering such services but, according to Nogueira, the iGaming regulatory framework has flaws that favour unlicensed offshore businesses.

PLS 213/2017 forces the Brazilian Central bank to create a procedure to stop local customers from paying said companies with credit or debit cards.

Both Brazil’s lower house and senate are discussing separate legalisation bills, which include proposals to force foreign players to take on local partners and restrictions on how many casinos one company can own. However, the country’s political scenario (with several politicians accused of corruption) is likely to prevent any of them to pass in the near future.