Despite the presentation of Senator Angelo Coronel’s (PSD-BA) report in the plenary, the vote on bill 3.626/23, which regulates online betting in Brazil, was postponed.
The opponents, led by Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), were able to maneuver the postponement with points of order and last-minute amendments, and the vice-president of the Chamber (who led the session), Veneziano Vital (MDB-PB), announced that next week the President of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, will decide on the vote. There is still no date set for it to occur.
The debate in the plenary focused on whether the bill would also tax other online gambling companies, and not only betting, which, according to critics of the text, would open the way to free “unsupervised virtual casinos”. Parliamentarians in favor of the proposal, however, pointed out that the measure does not create new types of gambling, but merely regulates a 2018 law (Law 13.756) and ensures that the government can collect from games that are already in operation.
Through a leadership agreement, the incumbent president guaranteed the reading of the report by Senator Coronel and postponed the substantive discussion and vote, which should take place next week.
Angelo Coronel
“We are not creating any form of gambling. Bill 3.626/2023, an initiative of the Executive Branch, regulates fixed odds betting games, which have been legal in Brazil since Law 13.756 of December 12, 2018. Currently, the so-called bets, although legal, because they are not regulated, are not collecting taxes in Brazil,” said Angelo Coronel.
According to him, only Brazil, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia have not yet regulated online gambling. Coronel’s position was supported by Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO).
Deferral
As reported by BNLData, interlocutors from the government leadership explained that the decision was made due to the low quorum of the session, which worried the government if a roll call vote was held.
The main point of disagreement was the inclusion of online gambling in the text, especially by opposition senators. The group argued that the bill does not regulate the sector and criticized that there is no guidance in the proposal on the supervision of these games.
Eduardo Girão (NOVO-CE), one of the main opponents of PL 3626/23.
For his part, Coronel stated that the segment is the one that contributes the most to tax collection and therefore will not exclude it. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the government will collect between BRL 2 billion – BRL 6 billion a year (between $408 million – $1.2 billion).
For Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM), however, the proposal could pave the way for the uncontrolled operation of gambling houses:
“We are voting in favor of an online casino. It’s not just soccer. There will be slot machines, blackjack, and roulette. It will have all kinds of casino games. We’re voting for an online casino, unsupervised. The casino will pay taxes, the government will collect and the player will be screwed”, he said.
Also opposed to the proposal, Eduardo Girão pointed out that the measure could lead to more people becoming addicted to gambling.
“I come from soccer, I’m also concerned about the sport because I see that it’s not even the tampering that everyone has seen happening because of sports betting, but it’s subverting the sport. The essence of sport is to unite, to entertain, to have a healthy life. And absolutely, this is pushing people towards addiction; it’s the opposite,” he criticized.
The proposal establishes that the control system will be implemented by the government when the sites are authorized to operate. The bill also maintains the right of companies to advertise in stadiums and media but with rules.
The deferral worries the government, as the bill is one of the economic team’s priorities to increase tax revenues in 2024 and further tightens a lengthy schedule of agendas to be voted on by Congress. To be included in next year’s budgets, the proposal will have to pass this year. The hurdle is that there are only three weeks left until the congressional recess, which begins on December 22.
As the rapporteur introduced changes to the proposal in the Senate, if the text is approved, it will return to the House for a more detailed analysis. The bill was approved by the deputies on September 13.