According to local media, the Brazilian government is looking to pass new legislation that would require foreign gaming operators to establish a legal address within the country, thereby ensuring that they pay all domestic taxes.
The government previously approved Bill 442/91 last year, which established a gaming tax rate of 17 percent—it also said that licensed incumbents would be exempt from numerous domestic taxes, including those for federal assistance, municipal services, income tax and civic funds. The new requirements for foreign operators, however, would nullify those exemptions, according to local outlet R7.
There is also a belief that the number of operators per state could be limited based on population, based on previous proposals.
Numerous government officials, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, have been outspoken about their opposition to all forms of gaming. However, they have also said that because the industry already exists and there’s no way to ban it completely, regulation and taxation is the only logical solution.
Sóstenes Cavalcante, a deputy of the Evangelical Caucus, told local media that “since the activity exists and we have no way of preventing it, we understand that it should be legalized and taxed. And as we have no way of controlling websites outside of Brazil and we can’t decide on what other countries do, then the best thing we can do is to tax it.”
