The regulation of sports betting in Brazil has never been so close to happening. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen actions taken by politicians and industry personalities to speed up this process, with a Provisional Measure for bookmakers expected to come out later this month.
There are many expectations with regulation and taxation of the segment, with the government hoping to collect from R$ 12 to R$ 15 billion – which could generate even more resources for various areas of society.
Exame interviewed executives from some of the main bookmakers in Brazil, where they gave their vision on the regulation of this great industry in the country.
What bookmakers think about regulation and taxation of the sector
After the Ministry of Finance stated that it is studying taxation and regulation of electronic betting to increase revenue, electronic betting platforms understand that a change can be positive for the sector. The government hopes to raise between R$12 billion and R$15 billion.
The CEO of Esportes da Sorte, Darwin Filho, defends that the regulation of the sector definitely leaves the paper. “The regulation will be very welcome to give more legal security to the business and separate serious operators from adventurers”, he says.
According to him, with the advent of regulation, the absolute number of companies operating in Brazil tends to decrease. “Unfortunately, in the still unregulated scenario, from time to time we come across operators that do not comply with responsible gaming regulations, compliance and fraud prevention, for example, and this ends up tarnishing the segment’s image in the country a little. I believe that, with the advent of regulation, we will have more companies with an unblemished reputation taking an interest in our market”, he explains.
Esportes da Sorte stamps its logo on ten clubs, four of which belong to the national elite. “2022 was a year of explosion for the sports betting segment. Large investments in open media, championships, events and soccer clubs. is well below what is found in more developed markets, such as England and Portugal”, analyzes Darwin.
Galera.bet, along with other bookmakers, announced a few weeks ago the creation of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), in Brasília. The Association exposed its proposals and next steps with a transparent dialogue in relation to the regularization of the sector in the country, one more advance for the regulation of the market that should be launched by the federal government.
“Galera.bet, since the beginning, has positioned itself in favor of the regularization of sports betting in Brazil and is doing everything in its power to advance the measure. It also advocates for the market developed under the principles of responsible gaming, in addition to having an area dedicated exclusively to integrity and compliance issues”, explains Marcos Sabiá, CEO of the company.
Hans Schleier, marketing director at Casa de Apostas, understands that the topic needs to be defined as soon as possible, as long as there is an understanding of all parties involved. “It is important that it be something very well designed. The regulation will bring the sector into a more common conversation, making other sports, even other markets, also have this interaction with betting platforms. It will also help to make the decisions more transparent. relations with clubs, entities, companies and the gamblers themselves”, he said.
Bookmakers are authorized to operate in the country by Law 13.756/2018, sanctioned by then President Michel Temer. “In fact, the law sanctioned by Michel Temer was substantially changed in 2022, when an amendment was approved regarding the percentages and destination of the proceeds from the collection of bets. Thus, today the main expectation revolves around the regulation to be issued by the Ministry of Finance, this being extremely important that it be carried out in accordance with the best commercial practices, in order to encourage companies operating in the market to be interested in establishing their businesses in Brazil”, clarifies Eduardo Diamante Teixeira, partner at Carlezzo Lawyers and specialist in sports law.
A survey released in the first quarter of this year by Ibope Repucom points to a 45% growth in sponsorships from bookmakers in 2022, compared to 2021. It is the sector with the most participation in club uniforms, in addition to the largest number in master ownership of jerseys in Serie A teams: there are eleven partnerships from seven different brands.
