Brazil's sports betting law to take effect on December 13

Despite the Brazilian government having not yet regulated Law No. 13,756/18, whether by omission, oversight, or negligence, this factor will not prevent the effects of the sports betting legislation, which will be in full force as of December 13 this year.

Lawyer and jurist Regis de Oliveira explained that the Government cannot fail to regulate a law, but if it does so, this does not prevent the effects of the law. What will happen then, if the Government does not issue the rules by the closure of the Legislature's session?

"This has been the question of most sports betting operators in the country, because point 3 of Article 29 of Law 13,756 of December 12, 2018, which institutes fixed odds betting or sports betting, states that the Union has up to four years to regulate the modality," explains the lawyer.

Article 3 states that "the Ministry of Finance shall regulate within a term of up to 2 (two) years, extendable for the same period, as from the date of publication of this Law, as per the provisions of this article."

"The regulation of the modality depends on an adjustment in the approved legislation, which will be through the issuance of a Provisional Measure (PM) to institute sanctions, which were not foreseen in the text of Law No. 13,756/18, to ensure the legal support of several aspects that will be included in the regulatory decree of the new modality," it highlights.

After all the discussions between the Civil House and the evangelical bench, deputy Marco Feliciano asked President Jair Bolsonaro to issue the PM and the regulatory decree, but only after the elections. Although reluctant with the request, it seems that Bolsonaro is willing to meet this request in order not to compromise his ties with the evangelicals.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro

What will happen then, if on December 13 the law is not regulated? Faced with the doubt, the media BNLData asked lawyer and jurist Regis de Oliveira, who quoted one of the most recognized experts in Public Law, Agustín Gordillo, to argue that the Government cannot fail to regulate a law, nor can it avoid the effects of it by not regulating it.

"There is a remarkable lesson from the Argentine Agustín Gordillo, one of the most renowned experts in Public Law, which is the following: the Government cannot fail to regulate a law. Nor can it avoid the outbreak of all its effects, by not regulating it. It cannot prevent the production of effects by its omission. The negligence, inertia, and irresponsibility of the Government cannot be an excuse for its negligence," he emphasized.

The lawyer also confirmed that, regardless of the regulatory decree, the law produces immediate effects, and the Government cannot prevent the effectiveness of the law and its effects. "Theoretically speaking, the legal norm produces its effects immediately. It is independent of the regulation and becomes fully effective. The Executive cannot, under the pretext of not regulating, prevent the effectiveness of the norm," he said.

In other words, on December 13 of this year, all gambling sites operating in Brazil will be able to operate as ".br". Additionally, all land-based operators will no longer have legal limitations with their "street operations."

Even without federal regulation, companies will pay the taxes provided for in Law 13,756/18, must collect the administration fee, and report to the country's national Financial Intelligence Unit (COAF for its initials in Portuguese) prizes over R$10,000 ($1,911).