Brazil is one step closer to legalized sports betting

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday a lottery measure that includes plans to allow land-based and online sports betting in “a competitive environment.”

The proposed legislation primarily details the division of lottery revenue among various public security, cultural and social programs, but it also provides for plans to authorize sports wagers.

Social Christian Party MP Gilberto Nascimento registered the only vote against the measure, as he stated he wondered if it made sense to authorize a “lottery through computers” that he claimed would “create a generation of addicts to generate a few million reals more for the public safety fund?”

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The measure now heads to Brazil’s Senate, and there’s more than a little sense of urgency. As a provisional measure, the Senate must approve PM 846 by November 28 if it is to become law.

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The legislation gives the Ministry of Finance up to two years in which to craft the necessary betting regulations and issue licenses

PM 846’s final text of requires land-based operators to pay out a minimum of 80% of betting handle to their customers, while operators’ gross revenue can’t exceed 14%, with the remaining 6% split between those government-funded programs. Online operators must pay out a minimum 89% to players, operator revenue is capped at 8%, while the government gets the rest.

The measure now heads to Brazil’s Senate, and there’s more than a little sense of urgency. As a provisional measure, the Senate must approve PM 846 by November 28 if it is to become law. The measure has already received the support of Brazil’s incoming Minister of Justice Sergio Moro, who said earlier this month that it was “very important” that the security forces receive the extra lottery funding.

Loterias Online - the country's new online lottery service enjoyed considerable support from the public, with over 413,000 registrations. Brazil’s Loterias Caixa reported sales of US$12.3m since its launch on August 10, representing 1.41% of total lottery sales during the period.

National Superintendent of Lotteries Gilson Braga said Caixa said "we are quite satisfied with these first three months of operation.” Online sales are expected to get a further boost from the launch earlier this month of a new product, Mega da Virada.