By July 2025, people from Espírito Santo should have a new option to do their “fezinha”. The government of Espírito Santo published in the Official Gazette, last Monday (27), the decree that regulates the Banestes Loteria. The state bank subsidiary will be responsible for operating the public betting service in the state.
To enable the start of operations, Banestes will sell a minority portion of the subsidiary. The objective is to attract an operator with experience in the sector, management skills and the necessary certifications to operate in the betting market.
Banestes Lottery and the choice of operator
They will complete the operator selection process by June 2025. According to Ricardo Pessanha, president of Banestes Loteria, after this stage, there will still be a period of negotiation for the implementation of the operation.
“After choosing the partner, there will still be a negotiation phase for implementation. So, the operation itself begins by July 2025”, explains Pessanha.
The decree authorizes the exploration of various types of games. Options include traditional lotteries, sports betting, online games, online casino and slot machines (VLT).
“There is a set of game types that are called lottery games, ranging from numerical prediction bets, such as Caixa‘s Mega-Sena, for example, to bets, sports betting, scratch cards, online casino, hunting machines -nickels”, highlights Pessanha.
Current legislation does not allow the exploitation of Jogo do Bicho, land-based casinos and bingo.
Will there be a state bet?
A frequent question is whether people from Espírito Santo will have a local sports betting platform from July onwards. Pessanha states that the possibility exists, but it will only be decided after selecting the operator and analyzing economic viability.
“I prefer to say that we will be able to explore, because the decision to actually explore is a strategic decision that will only be taken after choosing a partner”, he highlights.
The games will initially be sold at Banesfácil units, Banestes’ banking correspondent. New exclusive betting establishments may open in the future.
“We foresee the possibility of using the Banestes accredited network, the so-called banking correspondents known as Banesfácil. The owner of the establishment will be able to add Banestes Loteria products to the service”, he explains.
ES becomes the first state to have a lottery managed by a state bank
Espírito Santo sees betting regulation as an opportunity for revenue and security for bettors.
“We know that today there is still great distrust among Brazilians towards the gaming industry, because of the abundance of illegal operators. We want to turn a large part of the resources collected from the lottery into public policy”, says the president of Banestes Loteria.
With this initiative, Espírito Santo becomes the first state in the country to have a lottery managed by a state bank. While in other regions this service is operated by local authorities, in the state of Espírito Santo, Banestes takes the lead.
“Espírito Santo is preparing in a different way than the others, with security and reliability in mind. Furthermore, we are subject to the control of the State regulatory agency, the Court of Auditors and the Public Ministry”, concludes Pessanha.
