Brazil on Track to Legalise Sports Betting by July

The deputy secretary of prizes and draws at the Brazilian Ministry of Economy’s Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (Secap-ME) has given some hope that sports betting regulation could arrive this year. According to Waldir Eustáquio Marques Jr, regulation of the sector could be forthcoming in July.

Marques said: “Sports betting has some peculiarities distinct from traditional lotteries, and it involves very strong technological requirements that need to be studied a lot, such as the integrity of the sport, the prevention of money laundering, the prevention of the pathology of vulnerable players.

“We have closely studies the technicalities of administration, participated in various events and trained so that we can regulate this activity without having to take one step forward then another step back.”

According to Marques, the previous administration was very close to defining a regulatory framework but some aspects forced them to review the rules drawn up.

He said: “We were very close. The secretariat was working on clearance. We highlighted some points that could be detrimental so we had to stop and review the model in order to be able to proceed safely.”