Late last week Brazilian lawmakers approved an online gambling and sports betting bill that is now bound for President Lula da Silva’s office. Once President da Silva signs off on the bill, an entirely new and extremely large new gambling market will open for operators and affiliates alike.
Bill PL3626/23 has spent the last month in limbo as Brazilian senators debated the finer points of the measure, which will have significant national impact. In particular, a coalition of liberal and evangelical lawmakers joined up to oppose the sections of PL3626/23 authorizing online casinos. That same coalition nearly sank the entire bill in its final stages; and after weeks of negotiations. In the end a vote of 261 to 121 authorized approval of the bill.
Those same evangelical lawmakers say that they will continue opposing the online casinos and will urge President da Silva to withhold his signature on the bill until the online casinos are gone. The evangelical block tanked efforts to legalize sports betting last year using the same tactic. That said, it appears that this year’s bill has a bit more momentum on its side and will likely see approval from Brazil’s highest office.
Under the terms of the bill national operators will pay a 12 percent tax, while players will be taxed at 15 percent. Revenue generated by online gambling and sports betting will be used to bolster Brazil’s equivalent of Social Security, and to fund sports and tourism in the country.
With roughly 216 million residents, Brazil is the seventh largest country in the world and it’s a sure bet that its online casino and sports betting markets will be massively successful.