Online gambling legislation advances in Brazil
New gambling bill approved by a special committee but still faces uncertain political climate
Brazil’s special gaming committee, set up last year to oversee gambling legislation, has approved a bill to regulate online gaming in the country.
The PL 442/1991 bill would specifically allow for online bingo and casino, supervised by a new regulatory body, as well as a host of land-based options like resort casinos and state-owned lotteries.
No specific tax on gaming has been created although there would be a 15% income tax on player profits when they cash out, and a 3.65% levy on GGR to go towards social contributions.
The bill must now be sent to both houses of the National Congress of Brazil to be read and debated, but the timeline for this is unclear given the political turmoil in the country.
President Dilma Rousseff was successfully impeached on Wednesday, and stand-in president Michel Temer â who is known to have pro-gambling leanings â was sworn into the full-time role.
Gaming lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia, who was involved in lobbying the special committee, told EGR he was “optimistic” about the bill’s chances in the lower house of Congress, provided that “the intensive lobbying effort is kept or increased”.
He added: “The president’s impeachment process is over and the country, politically and economically, tends to come back to normality. At the same time, the discussion about gambling regulation is becoming more and more mature.”
The online grey market in Brazil is worth approximately $3bn, according to the Brazilian government.