Brazil to examine sports betting regulations in H1 2019
Ministry to tighten existing penalties against unlicensed offshore operators
Brazil’s Ministry of Economy has launched an investigation to find the “most viable” model for the roll-out of sports betting in the country.
Alexandre Manoel, Brazilian secretary for evaluation of public policies at the Ministry of Economy, confirmed two methods are being evaluated, one for physical sports betting and one for online.
Addressing the potential licensing of operators Manoel said: “This decision depends on the choice between a fixed number or a variable number of companies that will operate the bets”.
Under law 846/2018, fixed odds sports betting is required to be operated within a competitive environment .i.e. with more than one operator. After the government settles on which model of licensing to use, it will design the so-called “basic structure” required to carry out the regulation of sports betting, both in retail and online environments.
Manoel confirmed the Ministry is currently looking at more “mature” sports betting markets such as Portugal, UK and Italy as potential models for sports betting regulation in Brazil.
In addition, he said the ministry was looking to “take all legal measures” to tighten existing penalties against offshore online operators found to be targeting Brazil, adding that the ministry will “deal exclusively with what is legal; what is illegal is a matter for the police”.
A principle objective of regulating sports betting is to encourage private operators to enter the Brazilian market, aiming for the twin benefits of generating jobs and ensuring sporting integrity.
The law provides a minimum two-year period in which the Brazilian government can draft regulations for sports betting, but this can be extended by a further two years if required. However, Manoel has said the ministry expects to complete the regulation within two years.