The Sports Betting Bill (PL) returned to the Chamber of Deputies last Friday (15). After being approved with profound changes in the Senate last Tuesday (12).
The text, now in the hands of the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), does not address the regulation of online casino games. These games are a potential significant source of revenue through taxation of betting sites.
Disagreements regarding the inclusion of virtual casinos within the scope of the betting PL are causing delays in voting. This vote was scheduled for this Tuesday (19).
The lack of consensus among parliamentarians on the matter resulted in the vote being postponed until 2024.
Agenda is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Finance
Minister Fernando Haddad presented the Betting Bill (PL) to the National Congress, with the expectation of increasing revenue by R$2 billion next year through taxation of these games.
However, this amount could decrease by up to 80% if parliamentarians decide to remove the taxation and regulation of virtual casinos from the proposal.
With the vote on the Annual Budget Law (LOA) scheduled for Thursday (21), the Ministry of Finance is pushing for the approval of the project on Wednesday (20).
Opposition removes online casinos from PL de Apostas
In September, the Chamber approved the PL reported by deputy Adolfo Viana (PSDB-BA), which proposed the regulation of betting and the taxation of online games.
While the Senate approved the version presented by the rapporteur, senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), which reduced the rate on revenue obtained by bets from 18% to 12% and set the income tax charge on prizes at 15% of bettors who receive more than R$2,112.
Opposition
parliamentarians proposed and had two amendments approved during the Plenary vote that modified the original text.
The first, by senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), excludes online casinos from the proposal; the second, by Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), eliminates the possibility of installing physical machines.
Currently, Carlos Portinho’s amendment represents the main impasse. While some parliamentarians and the government argue the need to maintain the regulation of online casinos in the text, highlighting them as the main source of revenue for virtual betting houses, conservative deputies oppose the inclusion of this topic.
Amid this disagreement, the vote on the sports betting PL in the Chamber of Deputies remains undefined. Therefore, this outcome could directly influence the revenue expected by the Ministry of Finance for next year.
