The President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, said that the process of regulating sports betting in Brazil is quite advanced. “This ‘.bet’ (domain of gaming sites), a decree to regulate this is quite advanced”, he said in a recent interview.
However, the Ministry of Justice asked its portfolio to regulate the sector, which was being carried out by the Ministry of Economy until then. The information was published in the VEJA article last Thursday, 20.
The sports betting market expected the regulation to be approved later this year in order to take advantage of the FIFA Soccer World Cup to further popularize the activity.
The estimate is that betting sites can move between 7 billion and 10 billion reais a year as soon as the regulation takes place. Check out the full report by VEJA with the latest information on the bookmakers’ regulatory process below:
Government indecision for gambling site regulation
The Ministry of Justice claimed for its portfolio the regulation of sports betting, which until now was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy. The information was revealed to VEJA by companies working in the sector. The Ministry of Economy declined to comment on the matter and the Ministry of Justice did not respond until the report was published.
As President Jair Bolsonaro said in an interview on Friday, 14th, to Youtube channels Paparazzo Rubro-Negro, Instaverde and Futbolaço, the government is interested in regulating sports betting sites that are currently hosted outside the country even though they have primarily targeting Brazilians. This is because sports betting is prohibited in the country, but there are loopholes in the legislation for sites to work in a way that they are hosted in other countries.
“This ‘.bet’ (domain of gaming sites), a decree to regulate this is quite advanced,” said Bolsonaro. “The guy keeps playing and the money goes out, so this is mature with the whole society,” he said, who also stated that he is discussing a way to send the future collection of these taxes to specific areas such as security, treatment of drug addicts. , infrastructure, or even for the second or third division of football clubs.
“I don’t want it for the Treasury, I ‘have’ too much money. I’m the first president with a spending cap, I have a spending cap,” he said. “Money comes in for the government and I can’t spend it, I prefer money elsewhere, so the arm wrestling of the moment is where that money goes,” he said, stating that he will not veto the release of other types of betting games. like a slot machine or a casino, a topic that is particularly sensitive to its Christian electorate.
Delay in regulation
The companies responsible for the sports betting sites expected that the regulation would still be approved in the current government, since next year its approval will be hampered by a more conservative National Congress and, in the case of Lula’s victory, by a government that would benefit the interests of the State, such as Caixa lotteries, rather than those of the private sector. The change of folder is seen as another obstacle to this regulation later this year.
“This transfer, right at the end of the procedural deadline, should have a negative impact on the conclusion of the work for the publication of the decree”, said Daniel Trajano, commercial director of Esportes da Sorte. “We know that until the 30th of this month there will be no movement in the sector due to the presidential elections. Subsequently, we will be 20 days away from the start of the World Cup and very close to the end-of-year festivities and parliamentary recess.”
A study by Zion Market Research shows that this market should grow 10% per year, reaching about 155.5 billion dollars in 2024. In Brazil, the estimate is that sports betting sites should move between 7 billion and 10 billion dollars. reais per year as soon as regulation takes place.
“With the regulation, we will reinforce the integrity of the sport and strengthen the mechanisms to guarantee the safety of bettors, develop protection networks for vulnerable people and provide more transparency to operations”, says Hans Schleier, marketing director at Casa de Apostas. “The regulation allows the creation of a new industry with new professions and Brazil can become a technology center in this sector”, says Ricardo Rosada, marketing director at Galera.bet.
