Minas Gerais launches first licensed sports betting in Brazil

The state’s Loteria Mineira has been allowed to launch Lotominas.bet for a test period.

Brazil.- With federal sports betting legislation still yet to be signed off in Brazil, the state of Minas Gerais has decided to go ahead with its own local launch. The state-owned lottery operator Loteria Mineira (LEMG) has launched an app and the website Lotominas.bet on a 120-day trial basis.

The state government granted LEMG first rights to test the operation of a licensed sports betting platform. Customers certified via Brazil’s CBF registry may bet on sports and play instant lottery and keno. A promotional message on the site describes it as “the first licensed platform in Brazil” and states that “What you play with Lotominas.bet stays in Minas Gerais!”.

Located in southeastern Brazil, Minas Gerais is the country’s second most populous state in Brazil with a population of more than 20 million. Its decision to launch its own independent gambling market comes as Brazil’s federal sports betting legislation awaits sign-off. The Finance Ministry is said to have prepared the text of a provisional measure, which is expected to reach President Lula da Silva in the coming days.

Two other states – Rio de Janeiro and Paraiba – have also begun steps to launch their own independent sports betting regimes. Hazenclever Lopes Cançado, president of the Rio state lottery, Loterj, told ICE London’s VOX 2023 – World Regulatory Briefing this month that the state would open its planned fixed-odds betting tender in “approximately 120 days”.

The lottery will seek a partner for both online and in-person betting. It intends to publish its terms of reference with the tender criteria and technical requirements to operate the franchise by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Freixo, the new president of the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), appears to be coming around to the idea of legalising casino gambling. Freizo had voted against Bill 442/91 in February last year, but now in a new position, he’s confirmed that Embratur is following how gambling could boost tourism in Brazil.

Last year, Bill 442/91 got a positive vote in the Chamber of Deputies and went to the Senate but failed to receive approval from then president Jair Bolsonaro. Despite having voted against it, in an interview with Rádio BandNews, Freixo has now defended the regulation.