Yesterday (12 December), Brazil’s Senate plenary approved the amendments Bill 3,626/2023 which regulates sports betting. The bill was amended to remove igaming.
The vote, originally scheduled for the 6th of December, was postponed due to an insufficient number of senators available to vote.
Yesterday evening, Senator Angelo Coronel presented the bill to the senate. The bill contained the most recent round of changes following the initial approval by the Economic Affairs’ Commission of Brazil three weeks earlier.
Yesterday’s vote was dominated by three main points, despite the fact that there were many opponents to the bill.
First, the most important thing to note is the fact that the Senate voted in favor of removing igaming. Senator Carlos Portinho presented the amendment, which received 37 votes for excluding igaming from the bill and 27 votes against.
The senate voted not only to ban igaming but also to prohibit virtual games, and betting terminals. A proposal to ban sports betting advertisements in stadiums has also been rejected.
The Economic Affairs Commission approved all taxation suggestions made on November 22.
The GGR will now be limited at 12% instead of the previous 18%. Taxation of winnings was also modified.
The tax rate will only be 15%, and it is applied once per year. The amount is higher than the BRL2,112 exemption threshold (EUR394/PS339/$425).
A licensee will be expected to pay a fee up to 30m BRL as well. They will also be allowed to run up to five brands.
What’s next in Brazil’s Regulation?
The bill will now be sent back to the Chamber of Deputies after being approved by the Senate.
The bill has been approved in the past by the Chamber of Deputies, but the Senate made changes to it. Now the chamber must vote to approve the changes.
Now, the challenge will be to get the Chamber of Deputies to vote before the Christmas recess on any amendments made to the Bill. The period of time begins 23 December, and will continue until the beginning of February 2024.
We have 10 more days to vote.
Has igaming been banned?
The chamber of Deputies has the right to reverse the decision. The igaming bill could be reintroduced.
It is likely that the projected tax revenue for this year will be lower than what was initially expected.
It is expected that the initial goal of BRL1.6bn will be reached by less than half. Estimated at BRL700m. This total falls far short of what the government had hoped to achieve through taxes and license fees.
Neil Montgomery, the founder and managing director of Brazilian law firm Montgomery & Associados told iGB that he expected opposition from the senate to igaming.
Next week, the chamber of deputies will vote on igaming. The story has not ended yet, as the chamber of deputy retains the right to introduce igaming back into the bill.
