Brazil backs betting reforms for its pandemic recovery programme

Brazil’s Council of the Investment Partnerships Program (CPPI) met last week with President Jair Bolsonaro and Economic Minister Paulo Guedes to discuss new projects to boost the nation’s economic recovery from COVID-19 impacts.

The CPPI has decided to include sports betting in its  ‘PPI recovery program’, with the aim of creating new jobs and mitigate the negative consequences caused by the pandemic.

According to BNL Data, the State is seeking more efficiency in its public management models through increased competition, legal frameworks and regulatory improvements in order to attract local and international investors.

Martha Swiller, special secretary for the PPI of the Ministry of Economy (SECAP), said that the federal government is trying to fast track the privatization process.

In a press conference, she discussed the inclusion of sports betting in the PPI, saying: “We include a sports lottery called ‘fixed-odds betting’, which will be structured so we can have a concession system. In accordance with the legislation for these services, the goal is to attract private partners, in view of the existing regulations, so we can collect taxes and contribute to the fiscal effort of the government.”

The privatization process establishes that the BNDES will be responsible for execution and monitoring, while SECAP will coordinate the procedures and the different stages of the privatization.

In addition, BNDES will be in charge of promoting the contracting of consulting, auditing and other services to carry out the privatization. The bank will supervise the hiring of specialized technical services necessary for economic and financial evaluation, the development of the business plan and legal advice.

The decree also sets out that the BNDES will be responsible for defining the concession model, the number of licenses and the minimum values for the subsidies.