Although legislation to allow for sports wagering in Brazil has already been approved and signed into law, the guidelines for the implementation of the statute have to be issued via executive order for this activity to finally begin. The deadline set is March, and if met, the market will open by the end of the year.
That is according to Waldir Marques, Subsecretary of Public Policies, Planning, Energy and Lottery (SECAP in Portuguese)— an agency of the Brazilian Ministry of Economy—, who spoke with Valor Econômico, a local financial newspaper owned by mass media group Grupo Globo.
Marques explained that the delay in the draft of the enforcement rules was because the technical team spent 2019 researching and studying fixed-odds sports betting operations overseas and issuing public consultations. Officials aim to create an appealing regulatory framework for leading global companies —based in the U.K., Italy, the U.S., Greece, Portugal, and Denmark— who may enter the newly-regulated Brazilian market through sponsorship deals or as land-based and online operators.
The new executive order, which is currently undergoing an evaluation process by the Office of the Attorney General of the Treasury Department (PGFN in Portuguese), would establish a guarantee worth more than 6 million Brazilian reals (USD 1,464,170).
