Brazil Gets Sportsbook Licensing Manager

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has added sport’s betting to this country’s Investment Partnership Program portfolio and national privatization programme, by g a decree which gives Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social and the Ministry of the Economy full control of the process of selecting a sports betting operator.

These two entities will work on construction of the bidding process which will be similar to the one that facilitates the sale of instant win lottery business Loteria Exclusive Instantanea.

Multiple Operators

In February 2019…

…an agreement to pursue this model was achieved, scrapping plans to develop a qualitative framework in which any operators that met the licensing requirements can apply.

Undersecretary for prizes and sweepstakes at the Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery in the Ministry, Waldir Marques, has confirmed that multiple operators will be allowed to enter the Brazilian market.

He said:

“According to industry press, it is estimated that Brazilians send BRL2bn to BRL8bn abroad via international [gambling] sites, as the vertical is not regulated in the country.

This indicates that the legalisation of sports betting in Brazil will provide greater security for bettors, new jobs and more income, in addition to preserving sporting integrity, which is a key condition of regulation.”

Recovery Plan

Marques also said that federal income would be boosted by legal wagering through its 3% turnover tax on sports betting which is part of the legislation which was signed by the former Brazilian president Michel Temer in December 2018.

The sports betting market in Brazil was supposed to be launched at the end of 2020, but the late shift from the qualitative model will move legal wagering for until next year.

The attempts to finalize the regulatory framework and move towards the concession process launch were accelerated in June, when betting was included in BRL37.03bn package of fundraising measures by the PPI Council.

This will provide more opportunities for Brazil to recover economically after the massively bad impact the country suffered due to the pandemic.

Source:

“Brazil appoints managers for sportsbook licensing process”, igamingbusiness.com, August 21st, 2020.