Brazil is likely to have sports betting at some point in 2020

  • Brazil seems increasingly likely to have an open gambling market by 2020.
  • President Bolsonaro has been inconsistent on the topic, but legalization has proceeded apace.
  • Sportnco CEO Hervé Schlosser expects sports betting to be operational by the second half of 2020.

Brasilia, Brazil – The Brazilian gambling market has long been a topic of discussion amongst the sports betting community.

In the most basic terms, Brazil’s Ministry of Economy has a limited timeframe with which to come up with rules and regulations for gambling in the country. The first draft of these rules and regulations were submitted in September, and are currently up for debate and revision.

However, there is reason to be optimistic for a 2020 launch. Sportnco CEO Hervé Schlosser, speaking to SBCAmericas, expects the regulations to be defined by a decree “published during first quarter 2020, paving the way for a real opening of the market in the second half of 2020.”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been contradictory in his statements about the topic. Bolsonaro was quoted, during the time after his election, as saying “This is unbelievable: Now I am supposedly legalizing casinos in Brazil. Me? No one could believe such nonsense!”

However, he has also given statements to the contrary, noting that “There is a possibility, and I’m just saying a possibility, that we submit this issue for debate. Personally, I am against it, but it is a new topic that could be addressed.”

The discussion of betting in Brazil continues regardless, and, according to Schlosser, the practice appears to be on the track to full legalization.

Schlosser was overjoyed about the prospects of such a large potential market opening up to investors. Per SBCAmericas’ interview with Schlosser: “Based on estimates from KPMG from 2017, the online sports betting market could be worth around US$2bn in its first year of regulated activity, while Morgan Stanley says the Brazilian market could be worth around £1.6bn annually within five years. In a country with a population of 211 million, that is sports- and football-mad and has great potential for growth, these forecasts show that for the gambling sector Brazil really is a land of opportunities”.

In short, the future of sports betting in Brazil looks bright. Once the amendments to the rules and regulations submitted by the Ministry of Economy are approved by the Brazilian Congress, the framework should be in place to introduce sports betting in the second half of 2020.

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