Brazil’s sports betting sector has grown by 360 percent since the government legalized it. What remains is for the Senate to approve the bill that would create a legal framework for regulating the activity, Yogonet reported September 26. The Chamber of Deputies has already approved the bill.
The exponential growth was reported by Datahub, which also noted that the number of sportsbook companies increased from 51 to 239 between 2020 and 2022.
This has had a dramatic impact on Brazilian soccer, such that gaming now accounts for 95 percent of sponsorships.
According to Qesh CEO Cristiano Maschio, this has improved the clubs’ finances and promoted the sport. “This increase provides a new and strong source of revenue for the teams, which helps with new investments in infrastructure and the development and acquisition of players.”
He added, “The significant growth of the betting segment contributes not only to improving the financial aspect of the clubs and promoting the sport as a whole in the country.”
Bill 3626/23 is now with the Senate. If it doesn’t change anything, the bill calls for licensing by the Ministry of Finance with licenses costing about $6 million.
Some worry that this, when added to an existing 18 percent tax rate, could hamper the growth of the sector. And, by extension, the soccer clubs.
