In a news column for the Panorama Deportivo section of Oglobo.com, Magnho highlights the significance of legalizing sports betting in the South American giant, adding that an official of the the Brazilian Finance Ministry admitted the government there was interested in legalizing the activity as he addressed a panel session on the Latin American gambling market during the recently held ICE Totally Gaming show in London.
According to Magnho, Deputy Secretary of the Seae Office Alexandre Manoel said the sports betting project was ready, only waiting for the government to submit it to Congress.
Foreign sports betting sites currently evade USD 875M in taxes due to Brazil's current legal loophole on these grounds, the BNL editor says in his column.
“Only the online market moves USD 35M annually with around 40 sports betting sites currently operating in Brazil's grey zone, with servers working both inside and outside the country,” the article reads.