Brazil gambling regulation back on the agenda

The National Congress of Brazil is working on a new bill for the regulation of online gambling in the country, with a vote expected by the end of the year, eGaming Review has learned.

The draft bill includes an amendment which would give the country’s federal government the power to regulate gambling and include an online component for the first time.

eGR understands a special commission, chaired by Chamber of Deputies members Elmar Nascimento and Guilherme Mussi, has already met a number of times to discuss the issue, with a public hearing expected in the near future.

And according to Luiz Felipe Maia, partner at law firm Oliveira Ramos, Maia e Advogados Associados in São Paulo, President Dilma Rousseff has spoken to other senior politicians and is open to regulating the market.

A bill proposing the regulation of Brazil’s gambling market was previously approved by parliament in July, but was vetoed by Rousseff in August following an intervention from the Ministry of Finance, which argued it didn’t have time to regulate the new offering.

However, as reported by eGR in September, pressures on Brazil’s economy have forced Rousseff to reconsider her position, with reports that regulation could generate revenues of BRL20bn (£3.3bn) a year for the federal government.

Maia said that while the news was encouraging, the issue of taxation rates must be addressed if the regulation is to prove a success.

“The Bill of Law creates a tax of 10% or 20% of the betting handle. By international experience we know that this kind of taxation, added to the other existing taxes, will probably be very negative to the development of the gaming industry in the country,” he said.

“Our opinion is that the Bill of Law still needs much improvement,” he added.