As Brazil moves towards the regulation of sports betting at a federal level, the matter of taxation needs to be addressed. Ana Moser, the sports minister, has suggested a plan that would place her ministry in charge of this aspect.
According to Moser’s proposal, the tax rate for gross gaming revenue would be set between 15 to 16 percent. The Ministry of Sport would have the responsibility of collecting and distributing the tax to public agencies and sports organizations.
Out of the total tax collected, 10 percent would be allocated to social security, 2.4 percent to the National Social Security Fund, 1.63 percent to football clubs, and 0.82 percent to youth initiatives. Additionally, the Ministry of Sport would receive 1 percent.
On Friday (May 5), the Congress is expected to review the proposal. However, football clubs are likely to oppose the plan, as they have requested a minimum guarantee of 4 percent of the betting tax for athlete and image rights.
The Ministry of Finance and the minister for state planning and budget responsibilities, Esther Dweck, have reached an agreement to establish a new Betting and Lottery Secretariat to oversee sports betting in Brazil. The secretariat will manage license applications and monitor betting volumes and revenues. The Ministry of Finance expects that 70 to 100 operators will be involved.
While evangelical politicians have proposed an alternative to the proposed sports betting legislation, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad hopes that the government will be able to finalize the terms of a regulatory framework in the coming weeks.
Thus far, only the state of Minas Gerais has introduced regulated sports betting through a statewide pilot program. However, other states are also planning to launch their own initiatives due to ongoing delays in federal regulation.
