Brazilian igaming panel calls for more certainty in the market
BetMGM Brazil Head of Legal Eduardo Ludmer and Super Afiliados Head of Affiliates Pedro Lucas have both called for more certainty in the Brazilian market as they reflect on the six months since legalisation.
Speaking on an afternoon panel at iGB Live on Wednesday, Ludmer said there was a need for authorities to unite against illegal operators and for unlawful activities to be penalized.
Lucas added that Brazilian players were not well educated on the difference between legal and illegal operators, and warned that any attempt to close down affiliates would only make channelisation to legal sites harder.
“Politicians are trying to stop affiliates in Brazil because some have friends that have some kind of lobby pushing them to do that,” he said. “If you stop the affiliates in Brazil, you stop the market. The Brazilian market is hugely dependent on affiliates, so a kind of unity is needed that we don’t have in Brazil.”
Lucas also highlighted continuing threats to increase taxation, and apply back dated tax on legal operators, which he said created significant uncertainty for operators and affiliates.
Moreover, Ludmer pointed to ongoing legal challenges to the gambling law in Brazil. “So imagine that we have seven months of the regulated market, and we’re still debating whether gaming in Brazil will continue to be tolerated if the Supreme Court decides otherwise,” he said.
He agreed that the provisional suggestion that operator tax may be increased from 12% to 18% in October is also causing uncertainty. “I think the current tax burden is already enough. Operators pay not only the 12% but they pay all the other corporate taxes.”
He said the change had been proposed without any study of the potential consequences and urged the government to have “an open dialogue” before bringing the tax rise into law.
Regulated Brazilian igaming platforms went live on 1 January, with early data dubbed “encouraging” by analysts like James Wheatcroft at Jefferies Equity Research at the time.
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