The Finance Ministry could raise up to R$ 3.4 billion this year with the regulation of online gambling , provided that the requests for authorizations received in the first phase of licensing are accepted by the Ministry of Finance. In an interview with Estadão/Broadcast, the head of the Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA), Regis Dudena, acknowledged that not all companies will be able to obtain this authorization due to the mandatory requirements to operate in Brazil.
“The expectation is that not all (will be accepted), but we still cannot say how many of them will fulfil all the rules to be approved, nor whether they will meet the final requirement for payment of the authorization fee,” Dudena explained. According to Dudena, the technical team has already conducted a preliminary inspection of the documentation submitted and notified some companies to provide additional necessary information.
Dudena explained that the R 3.4 billion in revenue is an estimated ceiling, as it is still impossible to determine that all the companies that made the request are complying with all the rules to operate in the sector. Those that pass the filtering process by the technical team will make the payment this year, and the funds will be accounted for in the federal coffers.
Dudena also emphasised that the Ministry was looking at ways to provide awareness over gambling related harm. “Part of the task force announced by the Minister of Finance is to advance public information, for example, about the very nature of betting. Today, part of the population still does not understand that betting is merely entertainment. Betting is not a way to make money, it is not a supplement to income, and it is not a means to become more socially interesting,” said Dudena.
The government is set to launch three awareness campaigns on online gambling. Speaking in a separate interview to Globo Dudena said: “We will have educational campaigns that we are constructing both here at the Ministry of Finance and alongside our regulated entities. There will be significant reinforcement in collaboration with the Ministry of Health for the awareness phase.’
The first campaign, scheduled for next month will focus on disclosing the companies authorized to operate in Brazil. Starting from this date, the public will be able to consult the list of legalized operators. The second campaign will be broader and will involve collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The goal is to raise awareness about the risks of indebtedness and the impacts of gambling on health. In January 2025, the third campaign will be launched, presenting the list of companies that have received definitive authorization to operate in the country. This phase will mark the beginning of stricter monitoring of online betting activities.