Brazil postpones proposed tax on gambling deposits
Brazil has temporarily halted its proposed 15 per cent tax on gambling deposits, after a dramatic last minute appeal saw the votes secured to delay the measure.
Lawmakers have postponed a vote on the so-called CIDE-Bets tax until 2026, granting short-term relief to the country’s newly regulated betting sector.
The delay applies to PL 5,582/2025, known as the Antifaction Bill, which would impose a 15 per cent levy on player deposits made to licensed platforms. The decision was agreed during a cross-party meeting, despite the Senate having approved the bill in principle last week.
The tax was forecast to raise around BRL30 billion annually for Brazil’s National Public Security Fund, but has drawn heavy criticism from industry groups.
The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming warned the measure would push players toward illegal operators and undermine market viability, particularly when combined with proposals for retrospective taxation.
The RERCT Litígio Zero Bets measure would require operators to pay a 15% retrospective tax on their pre-regulation activities between 2018 and 2024. Discussing the decision to postpone the Antifaction Bill vote, Workers’ Party leader Lindbergh Farias said lawmakers need to get it right.
“It’s a controversial topic that requires more debate,” he said.
The Brazilian Institute For Responsible Gaming went a step further, slamming the proposed laws as handing a “competitive advantage” to offshore gambling operators.
“By taxing the bettor’s deposit at 15%, the state decrees that BRL100 is only worth BRL85 in companies that follow the law,” the IBJR stated. “In the black market, however, the same BRL100 is worth the full amount. This is a direct incentive to migrate to the illegal market.”
Colombia can be a cautionary tale for Brazil, with the fellow South American country implementing a 19 per cent tax on gambling deposits, which lead to a 30% decrease in gross gaming revenue in the following months, according to their peak trade body.
The postponement follows a separate appeal that has also stalled plans to gradually raise operator taxes, leaving further debate unlikely before the government recess.
