Loterj/Federal Gov’t Dispute Rumbles on as Appeal Rejected
André Mendonça, minister of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), has dismissed the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery’s (Loterj) appeal challenging the ban on its licensees operating nationwide in Brazil.
Mendonça’s preliminary ruling prohibited Loterj-licensed brands from accepting bets beyond Rio de Janeiro state borders, while also enforcing mandatory geolocation tracking from operators. Mendonça gave Loterj five days from Jan. 2 to introduce those measures.
Loterj appealed the ruling, highlighting “defects, omissions, obscurities and material errors” and claiming it would lead to reduced tax revenue for the state and disrupt the legal betting market in Brazil, newly regulated from Jan. 1.
The appeal failed, though, with Mendonça stating Loterj’s legal rebuttal was simply due to “mere disagreement” with the ruling. The five-day deadline remained in place.
Loterj has since launched another appeal, again citing errors and omissions in Mendonça’s preliminary decision.
Paraguay President Enacts New Gambling Legislation to Demonopolize Sector
The president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, has enacted the law to eliminate the gambling monopoly in the country.
In December, the Paraguay Chamber of Deputies approved amendments to the nation’s existing gambling legislation (Law No 1,016/1997), liberalizing the market and seeking to empower the regulator, the National Commission of Gambling (Conajzar).
Peña’s decision to enact Law 7438 was announced by Conajzar head Carlos Liseras earlier this week. Conajzar will be placed under the National Tax Revenue Directorate (DNIT) with the hopes of boosting tax collection from the gambling sector.
Brazil Working Group Launched to Oversee Gambling Tax Compliance
Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has partnered with the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) to ensure compliance with tax obligations in the legal gambling sector.
The betting tax working group established by the SPA and RFB, known as GTI-Bets, was introduced through Joint Ordinance RFB/SPA/MF No. 3, published in Brazil’s Official Gazette of the Union on Jan. 8.
GTI-Bets will primarily focus on ensuring tax compliance while also working to prevent money laundering and other related crimes.
The group will operate for an initial six-month period starting on Jan. 8, with the option for the secretaries to extend its duration if necessary.
Colombian President Renews Push for Gambling Tax Increase
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has once again called for taxes on gambling in the country to be increased after a previous attempt failed.
According to local news site La Republica, Petro is seeking higher tax collection from the Colombia gambling sector in order to boost the country’s health sector.
In December , a proposal to implement a new 19 percent value-added tax (VAT) on online gambling operators failed after it was rejected by the Colombia Congress.
The Colombian Association of Gaming Operators (Asojuegos) warned that tax could have “devastating consequences” for the nation’s gambling sector.
Brazil Regulator Chief Confident Regulations will Restrict Black Market
Regis Dudena, head of the SPA, is confident betting regulations will curb the black market in Brazil, with IP and payments blocking making it unsustainable.
The black market continues to be a major concern in Brazil, especially for licensed operators who have paid a substantial BRL 30 million ($4.8 million) license fee.
However, Dudena has faith the regulations introduced by the SPA in 2024 will successfully block illegal sites by making the environment financially unviable for black market operators.
Dudena told EXAME on Jan. 3:“The trend is that, over time, the economic incentives to operate illegally in the country will increasingly diminish. What we believe is that, over time, operating illegally will become less and less viable, both due to the regulator’s actions and the market’s adjustments.”
