Betting on Rio is worth it!, says councilor Pedro Duarte (1)
"Betting on Rio is worth it!", says councilor Pedro Duarte. Image: Renan Olaz / Disclosure / CMRJ

With the regulation of sports betting in Brazil getting closer and closer, the country’s states are already starting to prepare to ‘facilitate’ the entry of companies in the sector into their markets – some political personalities are already starting to think about the case, such as Pedro Duarte (NEW), councilor in Rio de Janeiro.

The activity has been allowed in Brazil since 2018, but there has never been a big step related to the regulation of the segment. Since the beginning of this year, the topic has been heavily debated and the tendency is for complete regulation to take place in 2023.

Recently Pedro Duarte wrote an article on the “O Dia” portal that portrays precisely the preparation of states and cities to receive bookmakers.

Check out the full article on sports betting by Pedro Duarte

All you have to do is turn on the television at any football match to notice a pattern: the ever-increasing presence of betting companies (the so-called “bets”), whether on the clubs’ shirts, on the advertising signs in the stadiums or even in half-time commercials. An impressive piece of data: all 20 clubs in Serie A of the Brasileirão have some sponsorship from the sector. It is estimated that the sector moves R$12 billion/year in Brazil. How did we get there?

First, it’s good to be clear: the betting medium is huge in the world, but it didn’t grow here because it was prohibited – until 2018, when a federal law authorizing the activity was passed. However, one important point remained pending: the regulation (“the rules of the game”), which will be edited very soon. From this, the companies, which today operate here from outside Brazil, will need to open a headquarters in our country: generating jobs, paying taxes and rendering accounts in the national territory. Mandatory.

The sector is, according to a report by the North American consulting firm Grand View Research, gigantic. The sports betting market was valued at nearly US$70 billion in 2020, and the forecast is that by 2028 this value will reach US$140 billion.

And betting is not just done on traditional sports: eSports such as League of Legends and Counter-Strike are also taking their place, and sponsorship of these betting companies is seen as a booster of these current sports.

The big question is: which cities will these companies choose to set up their headquarters? Whoever has the best business environment comes out ahead: qualified labor, vocation for sports and entertainment, little bureaucracy and lower taxes. In this case, the ISS – Tax on Services (ISS), which is municipal. São Paulo has already moved ahead, reducing from 5% to 2%. We wasted no time and already presented a project to have the same reduction here in Rio, putting ourselves on an equal footing in this dispute. Our city is the birthplace of the sport and the natural destination for these companies. Betting on Rio is worth it!