- SPORTS
A reduced 12% tax rate for Brazil sports betting was confirmed after the country's Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) approved Bill 3,626/23 today (22 November) while an attempt to remove igaming from the legislation was rebuffed.
The approval of the bill text by the CAE greenlights the bill to go to the Senate plenary. The Senate plenary vote will take place on 28 November, during which sports betting – alongside igaming – could be given the all-clear in Brazil.
If the Senate alters the bill text, it will go back to the Chamber of Deputies for review. The lower chamber approved Bill 3,626/2023 in September.
However it faced opposition from senators including Eduardo Girão and Carlos Portinho. Attempts to remove igaming from the legislation also failed during today’s session, after online casino was unexpectedly added to the sports betting bill in September.
The vote was set to take place yesterday before it was postponed by the CAE. According to the Senate agency on Senado Noticias, one of the requests to postpone was put forward by Senator Girão.
“It is an extremely serious issue, which impacts less privileged people,” said Girão. “We need to be very careful when legislating. It’s not in a rushed way.”
What are the next steps for Bill 3,626/2023?
Assuming the Senate plenary approves Bill 3,626/2023, it will head back to the chamber for further scrutiny.
After a positive vote there, it heads to President Lula da Silva, paving the way for the market to launch.
Brazil’s sports betting saga
It has been a long and winding road for sports betting in Brazil. In May, the Brazilian government launched a provisional measure (PM) for sports betting, which was adopted by the country’s president. PM No 1,182 was signed into law by da Silva in July.
This meant that Brazil’s 2018 sports betting measures, which had been approved in Law No 13,756, were passed into law. However, the signing of the PM was criticised by the gaming industry, particularly due to the high tax rate on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and restrictions on marketing.
Bill 3,626/2023 was introduced later in the year and amended PM No 1,182. The main difference was the inclusion of online casino in the bill text. However, before it was amended itself, Bill 3,626 kept the controversial 18% tax rate.
Brazil’s ministry of finance published the general conditions for sports betting in October. Those that wish to obtain a sports betting licence in Brazil will only be allowed to operate if they have a subsidiary in the country.