The sports betting regulatory framework for Brazil, the market’s global leader, is officially in place.
President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva signed Bill PL3626/23 into law on the weekend, according to Games Magazine Brasil, completing a long process full of amendments.
The federal sports betting regulation doesn’t include online casino gaming. However, the door is open for iGaming to be legalized, a contentious debate in Brazil, at a later date. Legalized online casinos have been opposed by some members of the legislation and Evangelical supporters.
The sports betting regulation process began in March 2023 when the Brazilian Minister of Finance wanted legislation passed.
PL3626/23 made it through the Chamber but was held up in the Senate, mainly due to the iGaming debate, until last month. After passing, it was endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies on Dec. 21 and then signed into law.
What are the regulations?
The new regulations impose a 12% tax rate on sports betting operators and 15% on bettors’ net winnings. The president removed a tax exemption for personal earnings under $425.
Operators looking to do business in Brazil will pay the government $6 million for a five-year license, and sportsbooks must offer customers a self-exclusion window ranging from 24 hours to six weeks.
The legal sports betting age in Brazil is 18. Operators must verify the identity of bettors through facial recognition.
Big business
Brazil is going to generate huge tax revenue numbers.
Sports betting has been legal in Brazil since 2018, minus the regulatory framework. Similarweb, a data analytics company, found that Brazil generates R$45 billion a year in fixed-odds betting, putting it ahead of the United Kingdom as the largest market in the world.
More than 130 companies have filed sports betting license applications. Betfair and bet365 are already established in Brazil.
