Brazil President Bolsonaro signs decree that starts sports betting privatization process

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday signed a decree that paves the way for legal sports betting industry in the country. 

The federal Official Gazette included Decree 10,467, by which the President agrees with the inclusion of the vertical, introduced as a public lottery service called “fixed-odds betting”, in the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) that seeks to attract the private sector to operate these businesses. The decree also states that the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the Ministry of Economy will be in charge of managing the privatization of sports betting.

The decree, signed by Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes, sets out that the ministry will coordinate and monitor the privatization process, SBC News reports. It will also carry out studies and execute the bidding process for the concessions. BNDES will report the progress of the privatization process to the Council of the Investment Alliances Program of the Presidency of the Republic and other relevant organizations..

The PPI portfolio includes 158 projects, with 13 different policies to carry out the privatizations, which don’t have a specific date but are part of a government process, according to Special Secretary of the PPI Martha Seillier.

The interest around football in Brazil has attracted a number of international operators seeking to establish their brands in the region in the face of the imminent regulation of the sports betting vertical. The potential inherent in such a vast market has already led companies to sign sponsorship deals, and currently 14 of the 29 teams in Brasileirão Série A are sponsored by sports betting operators.

Also, according to a report by local media Estadão, there are approximately 450 sites specialized in sports betting operating in Brazil.