Operator News
Brazil – Federal District lottery to go live in Brazil by September
By James - 10 April 2023
State owned Brazilian bank The Bank of Brasília (BRB) announced that it intends to roll out the state lottery for the Federal District by September. Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) will be responsible for operating lotteries, instants and sports betting in the state.
In a statement, the president of the BRB, Paulo Henrique Costa, said that that they were preparing a market based on current Brazilian legislation, which has removed Caixa’s national lottery monopoly and allows for lotteries, instants and sports betting. However, for sports betting, the state will wait for federal regulation, which could be launched soon.
“It is a super relevant strategic opportunity, since there is a great alignment between the theme of gaming and banking activity. The lottery needs distribution channels, and the bank has physical and electronic channels; it needs means of payment, technology, security of relevant information, internal controls, compliance with money laundering prevention regulations, and all of this is part of the day-to-day life of banks,” Costa remarked adding that “if this possibility of digital exploration opens up beyond the borders of the DF (federal district), the business potential grows massively.”
The Federal District will join other states, such as Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and others which are preparing to launch their own lottery and sports betting products, after a Supreme Court decision (STF). In September 2020, the STF ruled that the federal government’s lottery monopoly was unconstitutional, paving the way for states to develop state lotteries for each of Brazil’s 26 states and one federal district as long as they comply with federal regulations. This means that current operators can extend their offerings while states will begin to roll out their own lottery products within their own state borders.
Last week a consortium made up of IGT, Scientific Games and Brazilian company Saga BGI was awarded the license to operate lotteries in the state of Minas Gerais.
