IBIA welcomes the adoption of the Sports Betting Law by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. The law introduces an effective regulatory and licensing system for operators in Brazil for both sports betting and online casinos. It also includes a series of integrity measures to strengthen the fight against match-fixing related to sports betting.
The law requires sports betting operators to be part of an international monitoring body; a provision that will help ensure that adequate mechanisms are put in place to help protect operators, their customers, as well as sports, from potential fraud and manipulation. Furthermore, the ability for betting operators to suspend wagering payouts for matches that are under investigation for potential corruption is important to protect operators and discourage sports betting fraud.
Khaled Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “This is a historic moment for sports betting in Brazil and is an important step forward in the fight against match fixing. IBIA welcomes the adoption of specific betting integrity provisions in the law, which the association has been fighting for since discussions on sports betting regulation began in 2018. A number of Brazilian operators focused on the market have already joined IBIA and we look forward to engaging with other operators intent on offering well-protected sports betting products to Brazilian consumers through IBIA's world-leading integrity network.”
The IBIA is run by operators for operators, with its monitoring and alert network leveraging the collective resources and expertise of many of them, the largest regulated sports betting companies in the world. It monitors approximately $150 billion in betting transactions across approximately 650.000 competitive sporting events globally, making it the largest monitor of its kind in the world.
According to H2 Gambling Capital, IBIA is the leading independent authority on global gambling market data, IBIA members already represent over 60% of the remote gambling market in Brazil.
IBIA's international monitoring and alerting network will provide accurate and detailed information on suspicious betting activities on Brazilian sports to betting regulators, law enforcement agencies and sports governing bodies.
Khalid Ali said: “Although the new law is a very important milestone in the fight against match fixing, there is no room for complacency. We are committed to working more closely and sharing our experience with Brazilian regulators on the Integrity Implementing Regulation, as well as with sports and law enforcement to ensure we more effectively detect, deter and sanction matches betting rigging and fraud".
Opening markets to licensed sports betting operators is vital to protecting consumers and the integrity of sporting competitions. Regulated sports betting markets draw consumers away from unregulated markets, where most match-fixing and corruption problems arise.
Khalid Ali continued: “By opening the market to licensed sports betting operators, Brazil is sending a very important message to other Latin American markets: a dynamic and competitive regulatory framework for sports betting with strong integrity provisions is essential to the fight against match-fixing related to sports betting".
Sports betting takes place within a highly competitive international market and an overly burdensome regulatory and taxation framework is counterproductive and unintentionally pushes sports betting customers into unregulated markets, reducing tax revenue and increasing the risk of corruption and fixed matches.
Therefore, while the IBIA welcomes the fact that the Chamber of Deputies has resisted the temptation to impose higher levels of gambling taxation, the impact of the overall tax burden and the substantial cost of the license fee, which remains at BRL 30 million, could discourage investments in Brazil.
