Brazil takes another step forward with plans for regulated sports betting
Brazil continues to draft its sports betting regulations nearly five years after lawmakers approved the activity. The new political regime taking office in early 2023 is helping to advance the issue, and Congress will soon need to consider further regulatory action.
Brazil’s Finance Ministry plans to submit a Provisional Measure (PM) on sports betting to Congress. José Francisco Manssur, special adviser to the Treasury, informed the Parliamentary Committee of Investigation (CPI) this week.
The CPI is currently investigating widespread allegations of "match-fixing" across the sporting world. This has served as an additional catalyst for the introduction of regulations amid rumors of corruption at all levels of Brazilian football.
New regulator takes over
According to Brazilian media Hoje Em Dia, the Ministry of Finance proposed the creation of a National Secretariat for Gambling and Lottery. The agency will be responsible for regulating all aspects of the federal government's gambling and lottery operations. It includes not only the establishment of gaming facilities but also the supervision of all matters related to gaming and lotteries.
Mansour said the government wanted to take legal action after a corruption scandal spread to football leagues around the world. This includes establishing clear rules to prevent financial fraud associated with offshore gambling platforms.
Brazil will not be able to recover 10 million Brazilian reals ($2.06 million) for every time it does not resolve the matter. We must formulate regulations to collect these taxes,” Mansoor demanded.
The prime minister also reiterated that the government will require operators to be based in Brazil. They must maintain a certain level of equity capital and Brazilian employees. None of these levels have yet been defined.
The regulatory framework for sports betting is still under discussion and there is currently no information on when it will be ready. However, Mansour said responsible gambling will be an important part of the final guidelines.
There will also be advertising controls. The Treasury believes operators have "taken over" Brazilian sports channels through advertising.
Technology is at the heart of Brazilian gambling
Football match-fixing incidents may lead Brazil to adopt more technologically advanced methods of betting. Responding to a question from MP Oreo Ribeiro on the issue, Mansour said the government had a plan to prevent manipulation of the results of football matches.
It will require the use of surveillance systems to track betting in the country in real time. Mansour gave the example of a bet of 1 million reais ($209) on a corner kick that would automatically trigger an alert from the Treasury Department.
This will lead to a quick investigation of the bet. Depending on the findings, the authority can order the operator running that particular line to remove it from the board.
Valdemir de Sousa, deputy director of the Brazilian central bank’s conduct monitoring unit, also plans to intervene. During the CPI meeting, he explained that banks have started monitoring account movements. This comes after the bank saw an increase in betting volumes.
The bank estimates that betting transaction volume in the first half of this year was about 8 billion reais ($1.64 million).
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Source: www.casino.org
