Zona de Azar Brasil – Brazil: Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s Expectations for Online Betting

Brazil.- September 25, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com The acting president, Geraldo Alckmin, is expected to submit the requests from retail and industrial associations regarding online betting companies to four ministries by the end of this week.

Alckmin, who is also vice president and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC), met with sector representatives at the BNDES headquarters in São Paulo this Tuesday (24). He committed to bringing this matter to other ministers.

Geraldo Alckmin’s Expectations for Online Betting (Foto)

Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil

Jorge Gonçalves, president of the Institute for the Development of Retail Trade, said that the group “Proposal for the Nation” must include the creation of 15 entities that signed the manifesto for the regulation of advertising and sponsorship of online betting sites.

It was also requested to ban the use of credit cards to pay for bets. Geraldo Alckmin showed interest in the topics raised by Gonçalves and commented that the points presented were “coherent.”

As recently reported, the economic team suggested the creation of an interministerial group to address sports betting, but the plan was not implemented.

The Ministry of Finance states in a note that this group is “under construction.” One of the topics discussed by industry and trade representatives with Alckmin is the taxation of these companies.

The proposed law requires online betting companies to pay a 12% tax on their gaming revenue, discounting the cash prize awarded to bettors, called GGR (gross gaming revenue).

Advertising Regulations and Addiction Prevention

At the end of July, the Ministry of Finance published a law with rules to prevent and prohibit abusive advertising. In addition, betting companies must take measures to combat addiction, including, but not limited to, suspending players who present a “high risk of addiction.”

However, there are no specific criteria for this classification, which will depend on each company. Today, there is a proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC), still in the signature period, that equates sports betting with alcohol, tobacco, pesticides, and medicines.

This PEC prohibits the dissemination of commercial information and contains requirements warning about the dangers. However, these associations believe that the implementation period will not keep pace with the growth of gambling in the country.

The group calls for the immediate suspension of credit card payments or other similar methods. The new market regulations will ban the use of credit cards for betting, but this change will not take effect until January 2025.

Also present at the meeting was Oliver Tan Oh, Director of Development and Competitive Intelligence at the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit). He said the government should hurry to stop credit card payments and other types of payments that put consumers in debt.

Edited by: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com