Brazilian sports betting monopoly a "blessing in disguise"

Brazil’s plans to create an online sports betting monopoly could prove to be a positive development for the egaming industry, according to a leading Sao Paolo gaming lawyer.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported this week that stand-in president Michel Temer supported the creation of a state-run online sports betting company which would then be privatized to raise cash for the government.

While it looks to be a blow to the more liberalised tax-and-regulate model that many experts predicted Brazil would adopt in the next two years, Brazilian lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia suggested it could be a blessing in disguise.

“Although we understand this is not the best model for the country, it is a sign that the government is really studying the industry and willing to regulate other verticals such as casinos, bingos and online gaming,” said Maia.

He also pointed out that the plans may never be acted upon, given that the Brazilian Congress is currently on its summer hiatus, and a bill to create a sports betting monopoly has not yet been introduced.

As such, Maia suggested that the information leaked to the press could be a message for Congress to keep sports betting out of any egaming legislation it is considering.

At present there are two main gambling bills floating around Congress, one of which includes provisions for the regulation of egaming.

That bill has passed one Senate committee, but has yet to be voted on by the full chamber, and stakeholders are uncertain when that might happen. Another gambling bill is expected to be introduced into the lower house in the coming weeks but its creators are still working out the details of what would be regulated.