Industry Expects Brazil’s Land-Based Casino Vote to Pass
Brazil’s senate looks set to vote on the bill to legalize land-based gambling such as casino and bingo in the coming weeks, and the industry is largely expecting the regulation to get over the line.
While the legal online market is likely less than four months away now, it’s still unclear whether Brazil will have regulated land-based gambling despite PL 2,234/2022 being approved by the Justice and Citizenship Committee back in June, advancing it to the senate.
However, after the senate plenary neglected to vote on the bill following its return from recess on Aug. 1, senator Irajá Abreu has pushed in recent weeks for the bill to finally be voted on, believing he has the support required for it to pass.
Alex Pariente, corporate senior vice-president of casino and hotel operations at Hard Rock International, is confident land-based casinos will indeed be legalized, feeling it’s a foregone conclusion that president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will sign the bill into law if it passes the senate.
“We’ve never been this close,” Pariente told iGB. “I’m positive and I think you’re going to see results very soon.”
Yield Sec Warns Legal Operators Could Cover a Tenth of Brazilian Market
Data from Yield Sec has suggested licensed gambling brands could cover just nine percent of Brazil’s entire online gambling market.
113 operators applied for a license during the initial 90-day window of preference which shut on Aug. 20, with operators that applied during that period guaranteeing their applications will be processed by the current legal market launch date of Jan. 1, 2025.
With each license allowing successful applicants to operate three skins, up to 339 brands could go live when the legal market launches. However, Yield Sec has warned those brands could make up less than a tenth of Brazil’s online market, with the other 91 percent controlled by illegal operators.
Additionally, Yield Sec’s data estimates 49 million Brazilians, nearly a quarter of the population, used the black market to gamble over the first half of 2024.
Colombian Regulator Has Destroyed Over 2,000 Illegal Gambling Items
Coljuegos, the regulator of gambling in Colombia, has announced it has destroyed over 2,000 illegal gambling items as part of its “frontal fight” against the black market.
Coljuegos claims the illegal gambling items would have halted the transfer of close to COP78.4 billion ($18.8 million) to the health system if they weren’t destroyed.
The items included electronic slot machines, roulette wheels and bingo boards. They were valued at around COP445 million.
Coljuegos has now destroyed 7,382 illegal gambling items across 2024 so far, with president Marco Emilio Hincapié stating the regulator is “hitting hard” illegal operators that are active but not contributing to the state with taxes.
Loterj Reopens Accreditation Period for 60 Days
The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) has reopened its accreditation period for operators to apply for authorisation.
According to Games Magazine Brasil, the 60 days will start from Thursday (Sep. 5) after the previous application window shut on Aug. 13, a week prior to the closing of the window of preference for federal license applications.
The previous application window involved around 20 companies submitting license requests for Loterj accreditation. Among the companies already operating in the state are Bestbet and Pixbet.
A number of companies are also still undergoing accreditation, including Caesars Sportsbook-licensee Big Brazil and PNR.
Paraguay Regulator Pens Deal to Promote RG with Gambling Association
Conajzar, the gambling regulator in Paraguay, has agreed a deal with the Paraguayan Association of Gaming Operators Apoja to highlight the importance of responsible gambling.
As reported by SBC Noticias, the regulator is hoping to outline the dangers of gambling to push for a more sustainable betting environment in Paraguay.
Carlos Liseras, Conajzar president, believes businessmen in the gambling sector have the power to not only bring light to the initiatives, but also fund similar projects.
“These resources fund the budget of the directorate of charity and social assistance (Diben), go to the municipalities, the governorates, the ministry of health and also a large part to the ministry of sports for the practise of sports in all its forms,” Liseras explained.
