Congress resumes Income Tax exemption for bets of up to usd 440

The bill that regulated the sports betting sector in Brazil was one of the government's priorities for increasing revenue this year. Now, bettors will only have to pay the tax once a year. In addition, the tax will only be levied on net winnings, minus losses, for example.

Overturning the veto is likely to reduce the government's revenue, as it seeks to fulfil the fiscal target set by the Ministry of Finance and achieve a zero deficit from betting.

In a session of Congress analysing vetoes, the "no" votes are to overturn the veto and the "yes" votes are to maintain it. In the Senate, Lula's act received 64 votes against and 8 in favour. In the House of Representatives, the veto was rejected by 417 to 64.

The text was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 22 December and went on to be sanctioned. It establishes a rate of 12 per cent on bookmakers' revenue, minus the payment of prizes. Gamblers must pay 15 per cent of their winnings in this betting model.

When he sanctioned the law with vetoes, Lula justified the fact that keeping the section "would result in different taxation from that seen in other lottery modalities, thus making a distinction in tax behaviour without any reason to do so". 

Other points

For an online betting company to operate in the country, it will have to pay usd 5.8 million to obtain an operating licence.

Only companies incorporated under Brazilian law, with headquarters and administration in national territory, will be allowed to operate sports betting.

Under the law, minors under the age of 18 will not be able to place bets. The participation of

owners and people who work in betting companies
public agents involved in regulating and supervising the betting market
people who have access to the computerised betting system
people who have or may have influence over the outcome of matches, such as sports managers, referees and athletes
people diagnosed with ludopathy, which is the compulsion to gamble.
The text also creates rules for the operation of online games and casinos, a section that was included during the vote in the Chamber of Deputies.

The legislation also defines rules for advertising and publicity on gambling sites. And it establishes infractions and punishments in the event of non-compliance with the rules set out in the law.

Division of resources

According to the text, the division of the funds collected by the government will be as follows:

• 36% for the Ministry of Sport and the sports committees;
• 28% for tourism;
• 13.6% for public security;
• 10% for the Ministry of Education;
• 10% for social security;
• 1% for health
• 0.5% for civil society organisations
• 0.5% for the Fund for Equipping and Operationalising the End Activities of the Federal Police (Funapol);
• 0.4% for the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency.