Legislation
Brazil – President signs new lotteries bill into law
By James - 26 September 2022
President Jair Bolsonaro sanctioned Law No. 14,455 into law which creates the Health and Tourism Lotteries. President Bolsonaro vetoed only one of the articles of the bill. Concession rules initially had to be published within 30 days after the publication of the law. However this 30 day limit was vetoed by President Bolsonaro as he argued that the provision was unconstitutional.
In September the bill that gives the Federal Government the right to create both a Health and Tourism lottery was approved by lawmakers. Details over the new bill show that the amount allocated to Brazilian Tourist Board (Embratur), through the Tourism Lottery, will be 3.37 per cent, the same amount which will be allocated to the National Health Fund (FNS). Unclaimed prizes will also be transferred to the FNS and to Embratur.
According to a technical note from the Ministry of Tourism, the funds from the lottery will play an important role in strengthening the agency at the time of resumption of international tourism and will directly impact the generation of more jobs.
The proposal initially provided that the two lotteries would be operated by Caixa Econômica Federal. However, during the process in the Senate, a provision was included that allowed the new lotteries to be run by the private sector.
After the deductions provided for in the legislation, the result of the collection of games made by the Health and Tourism lotteries will be distributed according to specific criteria for each type of game.
5% will be allocated to the National Health Fund (FNS), in the case of the Health Lottery, and the same amount will be allocated to (Embratur), in the case of the Tourism Lottery.
For both lotteries 95% will be used to cover the operator’s expenses. For sports betting games 3.37% will be allocated to the FNS, in the case of the Health Lottery, and the same amount to Embratur for the tourism lottery. For both lotteries 1.63% will be allocated to sports entities that authorize the use of their brands for promotional purposes. Meanwhile prizes that are not claimed by the winners within the deadline will revert to the FNS or to Embratur, depending on the type of lottery.
Deputies approved bill PL 1561/2020 with 267 votes in favour and 94 against. Both lotteries will be run by a private operator after a tender. The lotteries will be allowed to offer fixed odds sports betting games in person and online as well as traditional number games. The proposal which had been modified by the Senate, had its analysis completed in the Chamber of Deputies and was then sent for presidential sanction.
