Online gambling advocates in Brazil are hailing a bill introduced in the National Senate to finally regulate the country’s massive gray market. But a lengthy review process, colored by political wrangling, could delay its passage indefinitely.
Senator Ciro Nogueira introduced the legislation prior to the country’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, saying the government is deriving no benefit from a clandestine market he estimates is attracting wagers in excess of US$8 billion a year.
“According to some studies, if regulated, the gambling market could bring to the state new revenues of at least R$15 billion ($6.8 billion) a year,” he said.
The bill is currently before the Senate’s Commission for Regional Development and Tourism, a significant step, but only the first of many reviews before it has a chance to become law, a process legal experts believe could take “many years”. The bill will also need to be presented to Brazil’s Commission for Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and IT, the Commission for Economic Affairs and the Commission for the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship. And even if it is eventually approved by the Senate, it will then require approval by the House of Representatives before being presented to the president for his or her approval.
As Neil Montgomery, a partner in the Brazilian law firm Montgomery & Associados, put it: “Our legislative process is most uncertain and highly susceptible to political pressure.”
He said, however, that is also possible the bill will be attached to one of the existing bills proposing the legalization of gaming and betting and processed accordingly.
