No cap on Brazil sports betting licences, regulator confirms
Regulator aims to submit draft regulation to public consultation within next 120 days
There will be no cap on the number of Brazilian sports betting licences that can be issued when the activity is regulated in the country, the Brazilian regulator has confirmed.
Other South American markets, including the province of Buenos Aires, have imposed an artificial cap on market participants, but the Brazilian regulator will issue licences to all entities who pass its licensing procedures, according to law firm Montgomery & Associados, which met this week with the regulator.
However, the licensing process could be delayed somewhat as the regulator first focuses on the privatisation of LOTEX, Brazil’s instant lottery scratchcard business.
The latest auction for the business, held on 28 May, saw no offers being put forward.
“The regulator confirmed that the government will have to somehow adjust the LOTEX offering to make it more attractive to interested parties and hold a new auction within the next 90 days,” Montgomery & Associados said in a note to clients.
“The focus will then switch to regulating [sports betting].”
The regulator said the plan was to submit a draft presidential decree, including the regulations, to public consultation within the next 120 days.
The law to legalise betting in Brazil was passed in December last year, with regulators initially given two years to draft regulations.
Also included in the update was news that the regulator will require licensed companies to allocate a portion of their activities to land-based operations, in a bid to create jobs for local citizens.
The regulator will also announce whether Brazil will adopt, or not, a blacklist of operators quarantined from obtaining licences at the opening of the market, as has been the case in other South American countries.