Online Gaming in Brazil

In December 2018, Brazil’s outgoing president Michel Temer signed Provisional Measure 846/18 into law, which provides for the redistribution of part of the national lotteries’ proceeds, regulates sports betting in the country, and sets a two-year window in which Congress can develop and pass sports betting controls. This period can be extended by two more years should the legislature fail to reach a decision within the window. The bill alllows for both land-based and online sports betting.

Brazil also launched an online lottery game, The Loterias Online, in August 2018. It attracted 341,000 player registrations and 3.5 million plays in its first month of operation.

Previously, there had been several unsuccessful attempts to criminalize online gaming in Brazil.

In 2006, 2008 and 2010, the Brazilian government attempted to block or ban online gaming payments, but the legislation failed. In 2011, Brazil tried to ban sports betting online, but that attempt fell short as well.

The failed efforts to ban online gaming reflect Brazil's conflicting views on the gaming industry in general. Brazil has a long and rich history of gambling, but it also has restrictive gambling laws.

In July 2015, Brazil's Senate approved legislation that would legalize sports betting in the country and create two new lotteries, the proceeds from which would be diverted to the nation's football clubs. The new regime would also apply to online gambling and would therefore subject players and affiliates of unauthorized operators to large fines.

In August 2015, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vetoed the clauses of the bill that would have regulated online gambling.

In August 2020, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro signed off on Decree 10,467, paving the way for a regulated sports betting industry. The decree, included in the Official Gazette, establishes that the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the Ministry of Economy will be in charge of managing the privatization of sports betting.

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