The Finance and Taxation Committee of the Chamber of Deputies held a public hearing this Wednesday, 12, to discuss the regulation of sports betting sites.
Deputy Júnior Mano (PL-CE), who requested the debate, recalled that the government of Michel Temer enacted Law 13.756/18, which governs the permission and regulation for the operation of the popular foreign betting sites that are operating in Brazil .
“These companies can even sponsor private institutions and advertise their services in various media. Several clubs in the Brazilian Serie A have sports betting sites branded on their shirts”, noted the deputy.
Still according to the parliamentarian, the big bookmakers receive a high volume of money and, consequently, a significant profit. “Part of this profit is converted into sponsorship for the clubs and, in exchange, the bookmakers receive advertising and publicity for their brand. This way, more profit is generated and more money to be invested in the development of the team. lucrative system for both parties”, he observed.
Júnior Mano stated that the audience aimed at debating the proposal by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, who on March 1st said that Brazil should tax sports betting. According to Haddad, not charging taxes is “illegal” and allows currency evasion.
According to Agência Câmara de Notícias, the debate was attended by members of the sector and institutions such as the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR), Sorte Online, the Gambling Commission of Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and the Federal Revenue of Brazil.
Sports betting sites regulation process
The sector still waits for the federal government to establish the legislation that will be followed in the country. By Law 13,756/2018, there was a period of four years for this to be done, but the situation did not evolve in the previous federal government of Jair Bolsonaro.
Now, the Ministry of Finance seeks to tax sports betting via a provisional measure, as well as establish specific rules for the activity of this market in Brazil. Today, the country is seen as the second largest sports betting market on the planet, behind only the United Kingdom, which has a much stronger currency than the real.
