BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Luiz Felipe Maia, Flavio Augusto Picchi and Débora Cunha Romanov, Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados – MYLAW
Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados – MYLAW Alameda Santos 2326 1st Floor 01418-200 São Paulo Brazil Tel: +55 112 157 5025 Email: contato@mylaw.com.br Web: www.mylaw.com.br 1. Introduction 1.1 Current Outlook and Recent Changes Brazil is the largest and most populated country in Latin America, with a total area of 3,265,080 square miles and a population of more than 213.4 million peo- ple (it is the fifth-largest country in the world in terms of size, and the seventh in terms of population). Brazil is a federation divided into 26 states, one federal dis - trict and 5,570 municipalities. Almost all gambling activities have been prohibited in Brazil for over 75 years. In Brazil, gambling does not have a legal definition. Instead, Decree-Law No 3,688/1941 (the “Misdemeanours Law”), drafted with the intention of preserving social morality, provides in Article 50 for: • the prohibition of “games of chance”, punishable with imprisonment for three months to one year; and • a fine for those who establish or carry out games of chance in a public place or place accessible to the public, by means of the payment of an entry fee or otherwise. There are three definitions of “game of chance”: • a game in which the winnings and losses depend exclusively or mainly on chance; • bets on horse racing outside a racetrack or where they are authorised; and • bets on any other sporting competition. Since the general ban on games of chance in 1941, the only legal gambling activities have been:
• lotteries under state monopoly; and • horse race betting. Recent Changes
After a gambling ban of more than 75 years, with a brief and failed attempt at the regulation of bingo in the 1990s, Brazil has recently seen considerable development in terms of gambling activities. Poker, although unregulated, is legal in Brazil, as it is consid- ered a skill-based game. This understanding has been confirmed by several court decisions. The opening of the Brazilian gambling market started with the creation of the virtual and land-based instant lottery (called LOTEX) by Law No 13,155/2015. Law No 13,756/2018 created fixed-odds sports betting as a lottery modality, granting powers for the Ministry of the Economy to regulate it and issue licences. In October 2023, the Minister of Finance signed Nor- mative Ordinance No 1,330/2023, establishing the general conditions for the commercial exploitation of fixed-odds lotteries, and regulating the general rules regarding this matter. In late December 2023, Law No 14,790/2023 was enacted, regulating fixed-odds lot- teries and amending Law No 13,756/2018. According to Article 3 of Law No 14,790/2023, fixed-odds bets may involve: • real events with a sports theme; or • virtual events in online games. In 2024, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA), the entity empowered to regulate fixed-odds betting in Brazil, issued several
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