Earlier this week, the deadline for deputies and senators to submit amendments to the sports betting PM ended.
In seven days, MP 1,182/2023 received 244 amendments, an indication that there will be intense discussions in the joint commission that analyzes the provisional measure, which has not yet been installed.
Published on July 25, the PM for sports betting deals with a topic that has been mobilizing parliamentarians this year: the regulation of the sector.
The subject gained strength with the proliferation of betting sites and also with investigations into the manipulation of football matches through sports betting.
The gap for these companies to operate in the country came in December 2018, when then-president Michel Temer (MDB) issued a provisional measure that allowed fixed-odds betting (as this type of sports betting is legally known).
Converted into Law 13,756, of 2018, the norm provided for a period of two years (extendable for another two years) for the sector to be regulated, which had not yet occurred.
According to the PM, the companies operating this type of lottery will be taxed at 18% on the revenue obtained from the games, discounting the payment of prizes to players and the Income Tax due on the prize.
The expectation, according to the government, is for a collection of up to R$ 2 billion in 2024, an amount that can reach up to R$ 12 billion in other years.
The PM has already produced effects since its publication, but it may still undergo changes in Congress. After analysis by the joint committee, the text will pass through the plenary of the Chamber and then the Senate, before proceeding to sanction (in case there are changes).
Betting games
Of the 244 amendments presented, 57 are from senators. Among them are eight amendments by Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), defender of the legalization of so-called gambling since the beginning of his mandate.
For the senator, one of the main arguments is the increase in revenue, as currently prohibited games continue to exist without generating resources for the government to invest, for example, in social programs.
One of the amendments seeks to regularize the jogo do bicho, a popular betting system that is currently considered a criminal offence. In the amendment, Angelo Coronel calls for the repeal of this ban.
“This type of game is nothing more than a lottery and is widely known and practiced in Brazil. I believe that by regulating the sector we will bring a great gain in revenue and take an activity that is socially accepted out of hiding”, he argues.
In addition, the senator wants to include in the measure the creation of a National Registry of Individuals with Behavior Suspected of Pathological Gambling Disorder (31th Amendment).
The intention is to prevent pathological gambling disorder, including the possibility of restrictions so that people registered in the register are prevented from placing bets.
PM for sports betting: resource allocations must change
Most of the senators’ amendments seek to guarantee the allocation of part of the resources raised with the fixed quota lotteries to specific areas.
Under current law, with the amendments to the PM for sports betting, the resources that remain after the payment of prizes and Income Tax on the prize are divided as follows:
- 82% for betting companies;
- 10% for the social security contribution;
- 3% for the Ministry of Sport;
- 2.55% for the National Public Security Fund;
- 1.63% for clubs and athletes that have names and symbols linked to bets;
- 0.82% to basic education.
Senators Teresa Leitão (PT-PE) and Dorinha Seabra (União-TO) presented amendments to reduce the percentage that remains with the betting company and allocate more resources to public school units of early childhood education, elementary school and high school, which currently receive 0.82% of the total (amendment 90 and amendment 124).
Amendments 78, by Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), and 234, by Senator Romário (PL-RJ), remove 0.5% of the total that goes to betting companies and allocate this percentage to the Ministry of Racial Equality (MIR), for actions to combat racism.
Amendment 106, by senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF), seeks to make permanent the allocation of 3% of these resources to the Ministry of Sport.
According to the current wording, this allocation will be valid until July 2028, and after that period, the resources will be collected from the National Treasury and freely used by the Union.
Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), in turn, proposes reducing from 2.55% to 1.55% the percentage that goes to the National Public Security Fund (FNSP) and allocating 1% of the resources to the Ministry of Defense, for use in border control, monitoring, protection and surveillance actions (amendment 113).
Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) wants to reduce from 82% to 80% the total that goes to betting companies, allocating the difference to prevention, control and mitigation measures of social harm caused by games in the areas of health and public safety (Amendment 138).
In the same sense, amendment 227, by Senator Mecias de Jesus (Republicanos-RR), seeks to guarantee 2% of betting resources to the Ministry of Health, for the development of a specific program for the treatment of gambling (addiction to gambling).
Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) wants to reduce the percentage of betting companies to 77%, passing the difference (5%) to the Fund for Equipping and Operationalization of Purpose Activities of the Federal Police (amendment 222).
With a similar content, Amendment 237, by Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA), allocates 10% of resources to Funapol.
Advertising
Some of the amendments to the sports betting PM seek to restrict advertising by bookmakers.
This is the case of Amendments 62, by Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), which prohibits these advertisements in schools and universities, and 107, by Senator Leila Barros, which prohibits this type of advertisement on radio and television stations between 9 pm and 6 am.
Amendment 136, presented by Senator Eduardo Girão, is even more restrictive and prohibits the advertising of these companies in all mass media, such as newspapers, television, radio and social media.
The senator also presented amendment 137, to prohibit sports betting houses from sponsoring teams, individual athletes and championships, a practice that has become increasingly common.
Amendment 139 is also his, which prohibits companies from providing discounts, credits or any type of bonus to encourage the first bet.
Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) presented an amendment to prohibit the display of advertising by fixed-quota lottery operators through digital platforms.
According to the amendment, the exhibition of this type of advertising on radio and TV would be allowed between 8 am and 4 pm (amendment 199).
Senator Romário wants advertising alluding to sports betting to be prohibited on game or training shirts for athletes and coaches, as well as static advertising in stadiums or sports arenas.
According to amendment 234, authored by the senator, only the time between 9 pm and 6 am is established for advertising by these companies on radio and TV.
Sports betting PM and companies in the sector
A much criticized point in the current betting system is that most companies are based abroad.
The sports betting PM obliges foreign companies that intend to explore fixed quota bets in the country to establish themselves in the national territory.
For senator Ciro Nogueira, this change is not enough. He presented an amendment so that national companies have preference to explore the sector (amendment 61).
The preference criteria, according to the amendment, would be established by regulation of the Ministry of Finance.
Senator Esperidião Amin (PP-SC) wants Caixa Econômica Federal to be authorized to operate in the fixed-quota betting business, as well as bets, in physical and virtual means (amendment 108). For him, the measure helps to balance this market, now occupied by the private sector.
Amendment 196, by Senator Soraya Tronicke (Podemos-MS), seeks to allow bookmakers to acquire, license or finance the acquisition of rights to sporting events for broadcasting, diffusion, transmission or any form of display of sounds and images.
For the senator, the measure would increase competition and, consequently, would bring benefits to consumers.
