Brazil intends to limit the payment of bets to debit and Pix; understand.
Sports betting was regulated in Brazil at the end of last year with Law 14.790. According to the legislation, the means of payment used to operate fixed odds betting must be authorized by the Central Bank.
The Ministry of Finance is yet to publish some ordinances to complement the regulation of the sector in Brazil. One of these should limit the means of payment to Pix and debit.
In a statement, the ministry said that "the government intends to authorize only the use of Pix and debit cards to avoid excessive indebtedness and gambling addiction".
Also asked about the possibility of using cryptocurrencies and a possible daily or monthly limit for bets, the Ministry of Finance replied that the technical area is still conducting internal studies.
Impact on the market
The ban on the use of credit cards and boleto to place bets will bring about changes, since most of the bookmakers operating in Brazil today accept these means of payment.
However, for Luiz Felipe Attie, a lawyer at BTLAW and a specialist in means of payment, the impact on the market should be reduced since, according to him, most bets today are placed using Pix and debit.
As the market is newly regulated, it is not yet possible to obtain the number of bets placed per payment type.
"In my opinion, it won't change much in practice, as the majority of bets today are placed with Pix and debit cards. I don't think the market will be affected if this restriction is confirmed," he says.
Aposta Legal Brasil asked Lotéricas Caixa about the possible impact of the ban on the use of boletos for betting, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Credit cards
The ban on the use of credit cards for betting is intended to allow gamblers to bet only with the funds they have on hand and avoid going into debt.
Luiz Felipe explains that, if this means of payment is allowed by the Ministry of Finance's ordinance, in addition to the government's rules, bookmakers will have to follow the rules of the providers, the card brands.
"Before the law, these companies were based abroad and had a representative in Brazil who made the payments possible and sent the payments abroad," he says.
"Now the companies will be based in Brazil. They will operate directly with the payment companies in Brazil."
The Brazilian Association of Credit Card and Services Companies (ABECS) was asked about the possible impact of the ban on the payment method, but chose not to comment.
Source: Aposta Legal