Five years after the approval of Law 13,756/18, which legalized gambling in Brazil, this sector is finally moving towards regulation.

Senate figures and market experts interviewed by Aposta Legal Brasil believe that the regulation should be sanctioned this year, with the implementation of tariffs and taxes beginning in 2024 .

The regulation awaits consideration by the Senate, following the approval of bill 3.626/23 in the Chamber of Deputies on September 13. Some points of the bill may delay the regulation, causing the text to return to the Chamber due to changes proposed by the Senate.

Even if the text returns to the Chamber, the expectation is that the bill will be put on the agenda this year, as the issue is being processed as a matter of urgency.

Need for resources

One point that leads experts to believe in the greater speed of the process of regulating sports betting is the country’s current fiscal situation, added to the possibility of revenue that taxation of the sector brings.

The Ministry of Finance expects that the regulation of the sports betting market will generate revenue of R$2 billion in the first year alone.

“This is the hot topic, we have to take advantage of this momentum in which the government lacks sources of revenue. We hope to approve it by the end of the year so that we can start 2024 with these new sources of revenue,” believes Senator Angelo Coronel.

For the lawyer and vice-president of the Special Commission for Lottery, Sports and Entertainment Law of the National OAB, Milton Jordão, “there is no doubt” that the regulation will come this year.

Emergency regime

Both Bill 3,626 and Provisional Measure 1,182, which deal with the regulation of sports betting, were authored by the executive branch. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has determined that the issues will be processed as a matter of urgency.

For Udo Seckelmann, a lawyer specializing in sports and betting at the Bichara e Motta law firm, the processing regime should result in the regulation being approved this year.

“We have been talking about this for 5 years, thinking that there would already be regulation by now, but something new always comes up. But since this project is urgent, even if it goes back to the Chamber, I understand that it would not take more than two months for it to be voted on,” he says.

If the project is approved this year, the next step will be for the Ministry of Finance to draft ordinances establishing guidelines for the exploration of sports betting.

From then on, it will be possible for companies to request licenses to operate in national territory, in accordance with the rules established by law.