Brazil has edged a step closer to introducing a 15% tax on player deposits after the country’s Senate approved the ‘Anti-faction’ bill earlier this week.
Created to fight organised crime in the South American country, the bill was approved 64-0 and will now pass to the Chamber of Deputies, from where it will be sent to President Lula for final approval.
Should it be successful, the tax would bring in an estimated BRL30bn (£4.1bn) per year and be allocated to Brazil’s National Public Security Fund.
But the tax has been met with resistance from the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gambling (IBJR), which has argued vehemently against the proposal.
The trade body said: “By taxing the bettor’s deposit at 15%, the state decrees that BRL100 is only worth BRL85 in companies that follow the law.
“In the black market however, the same BRL100 is worth the full amount. This is a direct incentive to migrate to the illegal market.
“Furthermore, the measure is based on a non-existent financial premise. It claims to collect BRL30bn annually from a formal market that currently generates around BRL36bn.
“Therefore, it projects collecting in taxes almost equivalent to the entire revenue of the regulated sector, which is mathematically impossible and renders formal economic activity unviable.”
The additional tax follows news earlier this month that the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee approved the raising of gambling tax from 12% to 18% in two tranches: rising to 15% across 2026-27 before settling at 18% in 2028.
Like the deposit tax, funds will be funnelled into social security.
The potential tax on player deposits came in the same week Brazil’s self-exclusion system launched.
The platform allows players to self-exclude from individual operators.
Users will be able to exclude for between one month and year, as well as self-excluding for life.
Giovanni Rocco Neto, Brazil’s national secretary for sports betting and economic development of sport, said: “This measure strengthens citizen protection, contributes to preserving the integrity of sports and supports actions for prevention and care for mental health.
“The Ministry of Sport will continue to work in close cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and other federal government agencies to improve monitoring instruments, transparency and accountability in the sector.”
The post Brazilian Senate approves 15% tax on player deposits first appeared on EGR Intel.
Anti-faction’ bill sent to Chamber of Deputies has been met with resistance from trade body IBJR
The post Brazilian Senate approves 15% tax on player deposits first appeared on EGR Intel.