President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned, with vetoes, the law that regulates the online sports betting market in Brazil, the so-called bets.
The sanction was published in an extra edition of the “Official Gazette of the Union” this Saturday (30).
The sanctioned law taxes companies and bettors, as well as establishing rules for the operation of betting and defining the distribution of resources collected by the government from the activity.
Approved by the Chamber of Deputies on December 21st (remember in the video below), the law is one of the measures defended by the government’s economic team to increase federal revenue.
According to initial calculations by the Executive, the taxation of virtual games and betting should allocate at least R$10 billion to the public coffers.
Vetos
When sanctioning the law, President Lula vetoed the section that provided that prizes of up to R$2,112 (first bracket on the Personal Income Tax table) would be free from taxation.
The veto was recommended by the Ministry of Finance. In the justification sent to Congress, the government stated that maintaining this section would violate “tax equality”.
“It would give rise to income tax taxation different from that seen in other lottery modalities, thus creating a distinction in tax conduct”, argued the Executive.
With the veto, Income Tax will be levied at a rate of 15% on bettors’ winnings. For companies, the tax will be 12% of the amount collected after deductions.
The vetoed sections will be analyzed by the National Congress. In a joint session, deputies and senators can maintain or override presidential vetoes.
Other sections in the law
For an online betting company to operate in the country, it will have to pay R$30 million to obtain an operating license.
Only companies established in accordance with Brazilian legislation, with headquarters and administration in the national territory, may operate sports betting.
According to the law, minors under 18 will not be able to place bets. The participation of:
- owners and people working in betting companies;
- public agents linked to the regulation and supervision of the betting market;
- people who have access to the computerized betting system;
- people who have or may have influence on the outcome of games, such as sports officials, referees and athletes;
- people diagnosed with ludopathy, which is the compulsion to gamble.
The text also creates rules for the operation of online gambling and casinos, an excerpt that was included during the vote in the Chamber of Deputies.
The legislation also defines rules for advertising and advertising on betting sites. And it establishes infractions and punishments for non-compliance with the rules provided for by law.
Resource division
According to the text, the division of resources collected by the government will be as follows:
- 36% for the Ministry of Sports and sports committees;
- 28% for Tourism;
- 13.6% for Public security;
- 10% to the Ministry of Education;
- 10% for social security;
- 1% for health;
- 0.5% for civil society entities;
- 0.5% to the Fund for the Equipment and Operationalization of Core Activities of the Federal Police (Funapol);
- 0.4% for the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency.