Eduardo Ludmer, Head of Legal at BetMGM, has questioned how the government is using the BRL 2.3 billion collected in license fees. His comments come amid growing challenges in tackling Brazil’s black market.
The Anatel or Brazil’s National Telecom Agency is reportedly running out of funding to support efforts to restrict illegal betting sites in Brazil.
Folha recently reported that Anatel lacks the funds to carry out site blocking orders. The agency also lacks the necessary personnel. Brazil’s betting regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), issues these orders.
Eduardo Ludmer, Head of Legal at BetMGM, questioned where the enforcement funding has gone. The illegal market continues to challenge Brazil’s newly regulated online betting sector. Operators have paid around BRL 2.3 billion (about $416,783) in licensing fees so far. A portion of this amount is meant to support black market enforcement.
Ludmer tells iGB that you cannot have resources to enforce the law. Everything relates to government spending. Public expenditure has reached unprecedented levels.
He added that public services in Brazil often lack quality, even though they receive generous funding. So, when they say that their industry is financing the costs of the administration, it feels more like they’re underwriting a record-breaking level of government expenditure, as well as debt.
In June, Gesiléa Teles, Head of Enforcement at Anatel, told Valor International that the agency had blocked over 15,000 illegal sites since the market’s inception. Anatel president Carlos Baigorri called for more powers to further strengthen the agency’s capabilities.
The government recently shook Brazil’s licensed betting sector by raising the operator GGR tax rate from 12% to 18%. The 50% hike came through a provisional measure.
Congress has 120 days from the publication of the provisional measure on June 11 to vote on whether to make the tax rise permanent.
