In the coming days, the federal government will present an interim measure to regulate sports betting and tax winnings
The federal government intends to issue an interim measure to regulate the activity of sports betting in the country. The information comes from the Ministry of Finance and comes at a time when there are reports of manipulation in football involving athletes from various clubs, including the Brasileirão’s Série A.
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The text should mainly focus on the so-called “fixed odds bets”, those on betting. From this, each body will be able to create its own ordinances with rules to curb cases of artificial alteration of the results or events in sports matches.
The provisional provision should create a secretariat within the structure of the Ministry of Finance to analyze the application for accreditation of betting companies in the country. The agency will take care of monitoring the volume and collection to ensure greater control over the market.
Only qualified clubs will be able to receive bets on official sporting events, those organized by federations, leagues and confederations. Sites that act outside the rule can be prosecuted for illegal practice.
Tax on betting winnings
Another objective of the text is to establish a new source of revenue for the public coffers. The companies will be taxed at 16% on the revenues obtained from all the games made, the so-called Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), amount that will be subtracted from the bettors’ winning amount.
Players will be taxed 30% income tax on prizes received if the amounts exceed BRL 2,112. It is unclear if this amount will be for each win or if it is applied over a particular period.
Finally, the deputy must ban advertising, even in digital media. It is unclear whether there will be any kind of restriction on platforms or formats, after all, many betting companies invest in football clubs, leagues and even organized fans in Brazil.
The draft text was sent to five other ministries for evaluation: Planning, Management, Health, Tourism and Sport. Those involved will be able to express their opinion and suggest changes before the final presentation to the Civil House, where the deputy will be presented to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Is the provisional measure positive or negative?
The lawyer João Vitor Kanufre Xavier, a specialist in financial and tax law, believes that there are only positive aspects to the proposal, above all because the law would bring betting sites into the national territory. “Bookmakers are often in tax havens, using means of payment and facilitators to receive funds. So they place them within the rules of the interim order,” he explains.
For João Xavier, this is also good for these companies, because they would emerge from a sort of informality. “After the deadline for the regulation of the 2018 law, they were in legal limbo, even if they functioned normally and without any sanctions,” he analyzed.
The expert only points out the “mistake” of putting the Ministry of Finance in control of betting, because the body would not have the same power as an autonomous body, such as a regulatory agency.
“Having a regulatory body that is autonomous or separate from the ministry, as is the case in Nevada, in the United States, would be the best solution. Apparently, Brazil has followed a tradition of countries like Portugal and Macao, which bet within the Ministry of Finance. Let’s see how it will work concretely, if there are the means to carry out this control, also from a regulatory point of view”, reflects the lawyer.
The project must meet resistance
The proposal intends to divide the amount raised between the sectors of basic education, public security, social actions and sports clubs. Of the total raised, 2.55% will be allocated to the National Public Security Fund, for actions to combat match-fixing, money laundering and other criminal acts that are practiced in the betting sector.
Despite having this remarkable purpose, major resistance from the Congressman is expected in Congressional assessment, after all, there will be an impact on the profitability of corporations and gamblers. The betting sector has grown significantly in recent years, but there are no clear rules on how it works in Brazil.
There is also some expectation that this law could have an impact on the gambling issue in Brazil. For Xavier, these are issues parallel to the regulation of “fixed account” bets, but which could be a “horizon” for the future.
Recently, Justice Minister Flávio Dino ordered the federal police to launch an inquiry to investigate cases of manipulation. The Goiás Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-GO) has charged 16 people allegedly involved in influencing the outcome of 13 football matches. According to MP-GO, there would have been cases in eight Série A matches and one in Série B of the 2022 Brazilian championship, as well as four in the state championships in 2023.
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Source: Terra
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