The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) is concerned that after four years of waiting, there are still delays in the framework for regulation of sports betting, according to SBC Americas.
This comes after a recent smartphone survey showed that 25 percent of the population has already participated in the unregulated market in the form of sports betting apps.
IBJR said in a statement that was intended for regulators and lawmakers that it has “deep concerns” over the “uncertain trajectory” of implementing regulations.
The statement said, “The recent news that the announced Provisional Measure promised for the end of April would be converted into an urgent Bill of Law marked yet another sudden change of course in relation to the plan that the Government Federal had communicated to the market, generating new delays, and insecurity among operators and members of the IBJR.”
It added, “Over the more than four years in which we have been waiting for the regulation of the sector and the issuance of operating licenses, since the approval of Law Nº 13,756 by the National Congress and its sanction by the President, our optimism with the potential of the Brazilian market has been tested.”
The IBJR is also worried that the high tax rates in Brazil, with an effective rate of 28 percent and a proposed license fee of R$30 million ($6 million), would be one of the highest anywhere. This could make playing on the illegal market more attractive to some, since illegal sites offer more products, such as online casinos, and don’t charge taxes.
The IBJR concluded, “We insist that regulation is the right answer to face the social and economic challenges of this industry. However, regulation must be coherent and must be in line with sustainable, successful international markets that have been operating for decades,” adding, “Brazil is not an attractive market at any cost.”
The survey on the popularity of mobile sports betting was done by media outlet Mobile Time and research platform Opinion Box, according to the Brazilian Report. They interviewed more than 2,000 smartphone users and found that one in four have placed sports bets through mobile apps. Most of these were young men with low incomes.
The survey found that 22 percent of residents in high socioeconomic classes had placed bets on mobile platforms. That number rose to 30 percent among the lower income groups.
Sixty percent of those who placed bets said they lost more money than they won. That percentage rose to 65 percent among bettors in lower income groups.
The most popular sports betting apps in Brazil include Bet365, Betano, Blaze Pixbet, and Sportingbet.
Sports betting apps were legalized in the country in 2018, but regulation of them has fallen far behind.
The administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is working on releasing sports betting regulations as soon as possible. One reason is that in April the Finance Minister estimated that taxing such platforms could generate as much as BRL15 billion ($3 billion) annually.
Muddying the waters of this effort is the recent match-fixing scandal in the country’s soccer league and the fact that all of the top clubs are sponsored by sports betting companies. The Justice Ministry last month set the Federal Police to investigate match-fixing after prosecutors found evidence of players being paid to take certain actions during matches.
