In Brazil, movement has been taking place for some time that would see online gambling finally taking place within the country. As the largest country in South America, online gambling would have the potential to bring in big bucks to the area. Players are already logging on from their homes in Brazil to enjoy online gaming but the activity is not sanctioned.
It seems that legislators are now understanding that money is moving out of Brazil and going to other countries as unregulated sites are offering their services to Brazilians. Research has shown that residents of Brazil travel out of the country on a monthly basis just to be able to enjoy casino gaming. Casinos located in Uruguay are easily accessed and are a welcome sight to gamblers of Brazil. It has been found that as many as 200,000 residents travel to the casinos for gaming.
Just last week, the government of Brazil made giant strides towards taking advantage of the benefits of providing residents with online gaming options. The Special Committee on National Development approved an amended option of the online gambling bill created in Brazil, known as SB 186/2014. The full version of the bill was approved and this will add online gaming to a list of activities that are permitted as a gambling activity in Brazil. This list currently includes bookmakers, jogo do bicho, casinos and bingos.
The new bill as amended also includes additional language that would create tax rates for specific gambling activities. 20% would be taxed on gross revenues, which is twice the requirement for operators of land-based venues. Land based operators tend to have a higher cost than those who offer services online. Proposed changes also include casinos and video lottery terminals, online sports betting, bingo and casino products.
The economic crisis seen in Brazil is actually spreading throughout South America so something has to be done to try and create revenues. With the amended version of the bill approved, it is a great sign that the government is trying to do what they can to bring in money to Brazil. It has been estimated that annual revenues from online gambling would be in the $3.7 billion range, which is a nice chunk of change that could help the country that is already struggling financially.
Operators who are to offer online gambling services in Brazil will need to create an office locally and then the Central Bank of Brazil will have to block payments from online operators who are not authorized to offer services. The positioning of these aspects has already begun. AGT is set to create an office in the Sao Paulo area and will Intralot is also looking to offer online gaming options. Codere of Spain is a sports betting company operating in Spain currently that has also shown interest.
It will be interesting to see how the industry can begin if legislation reaches the final hurdles and becomes law. The country can certainly benefit from the activity and gamblers will be happy to have online options to enjoy at home or while on the go. We will continue to cover this story as more information becomes available on the subject.