Brazilian deputies vote to create Health and Tourism Lottery

The Chamber of Deputies has voted in favour of a bill that will end Caixa Econômica Federal’s monopoly on Brazil’s lottery.

Brazil. The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has voted in favour of Bill 1561/20, which proposes the creation of a Health Lottery and a Tourism Lottery. The bill has already passed the senate, so with the lower house’s approval, it now goes to the president’s desk.

Bill 1561/20 would allow retail and online lottery sales to raise funding for the National Health Fund (FNS) and the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur). Revenue after prizes will be divided 95 per cent for the operator and 5 per cent for either FNS or Embratur.

The lotteries will be run by the Ministries of Health and Tourism, regulated by the Ministry of Economy. The latter will determine details of the concession of the lotteries, which will see the existing operator Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) having to compete against private sector rivals.

The bill received the lower house’s approval but not without some criticism over the lack of detail about how the operator will be chosen.

Deputy Giovani Cherini, who supported the bill, said the CEF would be able to take part in the tender process, but that the government wants “to open up the possibility to the private sector.

He said: “The Ministry of Economy will manage it. It has a competent sector for this, so everything will be within the law.”

At the same time, a new bill has been put forward proposing a ban against financial institutions authorising online transactions for gambling with unlicensed operators. Bill 1823/22 would require Brazil’s Central Bank to follow guidelines from the National Monetary Council to devise rules on the cancellation of such transactions. The bill will go to the committee stage for analysis.

See also: Uruguayan senate passes online gambling legislation