The first stage towards the establishment of a legal framework in Brazil is to introduce fixed odds betting. This will be done in Brazil in four phases, with July 2024 as its final date.
The new law was published in the Official Gazette of the Union by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance. The new ordinance outlines the implementation of the Bill 3,626 regulations in the next few months.
This order establishes the Regulatory Policy of the Prizes and Betting Secretariat, a Ministry of Finance body that will publish and structure the upcoming regulation in accordance with the guidelines.
This body will provide clarification on the legal aspect of the regulations and give priority to the measures that are most urgent for implementation.
The Ministry of Finance said in a press release that the main goal of the measure is to structure systematically the regulatory agenda of fixed-odds betting in this country. It represents an important advance in managing and supervising the sector.
The ordinance provides legal certainty, predictability, and efficiency in the regulatory process. It thus solidifies the basis for a reliable and stable betting environment in Brazil.
Priority-based rollout
This will happen in four phases, arranged by priority.
- The first stage is until April 2020
- The second stage will run until the end of May 2020
- The third stage is until the end of 2024
- Stage Four – until July 20, 2024
In the first phase, the regulations governing the payment, technical and security standards that operators are required to follow will be released. In April, rules on the application process for fixed-odds operators will be released.
During its second phase, the SPA is expected to publish their anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist-financing policies. The SPA will publish its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing policies during the second stage. The rules that operators are required to follow in order to comply with the law and guarantee the rights of bettors will also appear.
In the third stage, SPA will announce technical and security requirements for gaming online. This stage will also include the procedures for gambling advertising monitoring.
In the final phase, we will detail how to allocate industry donations for socially responsible causes.
Brazil’s Industry is pleased with the movement
The industry has been waiting for years to implement and define online gambling in Brazil. It is eager to see some progress. Hugo Baungartner is the VP for global markets of Aposta Ganha. He said that the schedule of Brazil’s ministry of finance was realistic – as long as other departments cooperate.
Baungartner said that the schedule was reasonable and achievable. The [ministry] of finance just has to make sure that other departments in the government are all on the same page, and do not block the process.
He is concerned about the definition of fixed odds.
As the industry has been waiting for some time to see a change in the law, it is not uncommon that there will be concerns about certain aspects. The signing of Bill 3,626 by President Luiz inacio Lula in December 2023 marked the start of a brand new era in Brazil for sports betting and online gambling.
On the way to ratification, there were many battles. In November the attempt to eliminate igaming was rejected, and then in December it was approved. Igaming has been reintroduced by the Chamber of Deputies.
The proposed tax rate was also the subject of controversy. In the beginning, 18% was set as the tax rate on gross gaming revenues (GGR). This would actually have been 30.82 % when taxes are taken into consideration. In November, this was reduced to 12%.
