The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, said that legalizing and regulating gambling and sports betting could be a “path to sustainable revenue” in Brazil.
A 2018 law allowed sports betting sites, which have seen a considerable increase in recent years, and have partnerships with sports teams of national expression. However, the regulation of the sector has not yet been released.
Without defined norms, the players have been operating from abroad, without paying taxes or duties. Other types of games, such as bingos and casinos, are still prohibited in the national territory.
The Lula government’s decision to regulate the taxation of sports betting encouraged the return of the debate on the legalization and regulation of games in general, such as jogo do bicho, bingos and casinos.
The justification given by supporters of the gaming sector is that these activities continue to grow in Brazil, albeit irregularly and without generating funds for public coffers.
“There are legal framework projects under debate, such as the legalization of games and sports betting, which can be the path to sustainable revenue”, said Rodrigo Pacheco.
Rodrigo Pacheco promises to put the Legal Framework for the Games on the Senate agenda soon
A project that legalizes gambling has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2022 and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Therefore, Pacheco himself can put the project up for debate in the House.
The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), is a strong advocate of legalization. “Gaming, an extraordinary source of jobs, an extraordinary source of income. It exists everywhere in the country, in all cities in Brazil and we do not regulate it,” he said in March.
Rodrigo Pacheco told BBC News Brasil that the project that legalizes games will be included in the voting agenda in the next two months, between May and June.
“We want to speed up the vote on all these projects that generate revenue and one of these projects is the one that legalizes gambling, which has already passed in the Chamber”, he said.
However, the legalization of games in Brazil suffers strong opposition in the Federal Congress, especially from the evangelical group, which aims to maintain the ban.
Sports betting should be taxed by the federal government
The Ministry of Finance is finalizing a provisional measure (PM) to regulate the taxation of bookmakers. But some information has already been announced.
The intention is for bettors to be taxed at 30% on the amounts of prizes received. There will be an exemption for earnings that are within the value of the first Income Tax bracket, of approximately R$ 1,900.
Bookmakers will need to pay BRL 30 million to the federal government for a five-year license and 15% tax on profits. Meanwhile, the legalization of casinos and bingos awaits approval in the Senate.
