Bookmakers took a stand against the exclusion of an article that grants the State the ability to pass on to sports entities and athletes a slice of the sector’s tax revenue as payment for the exploitation of “their denominations, their sporting nicknames, their images, their brands, their emblems, their anthems, their symbols and the like.”
According to article 30, paragraph 1-A of law 13,756/2018, which legalized sports betting in Brazil, the Federal Government allocates 1.63% of the revenue from fixed-odd lotteries to the National Sports System.
This amount serves as compensation for the use of the names of sports entities and athletes, and the distribution is carried out by the government itself.
Bookmakers and the regulatory project
If the Senate approves the change in the bill, operators will have to negotiate directly with clubs and sportspeople to use their images on betting sites.
This need would place an even greater burden on companies. Houses are already complaining about the taxation defined by the Federal Government. Currently, taxation is 18% on GGR (gross collection minus money paid in prizes).
Bernardo Freire, partner at Wald Advogados and legal consultant at Betnacional, recalled that the teams already benefit greatly from the sector.
Currently, clubs are sponsored by betting sites. And, they also benefit from the remuneration provided by commercial partnerships signed by the segment with championships and sports entities, such as Brasileirão, the Copa do Brasil and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
In an interview with the website Máquina do Esporte, Freire claimed that this model of individual negotiation would make it even more difficult for companies to operate in Brazilian territory.
“This doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. If so, it is better not to regulate it. It is an amendment that has to be reacted with concern now so that it does not become law,” said Freire.
Currently, the bill is being processed in two committees of the Federal Senate. The expectation is that it will be voted on in the House Plenary this November.