Another hold-up for Brazil sports betting

It is back to the drawing board for legalised sports betting in Brazil as the departing president, Jair Bolsonaro, did not sign the new regulations before the deadline.

The long drawn-out business of getting legalised betting into Brazil has now been rumbling on for four years. The government at that time was given two yeas to prepare and launch the regulations, but it has been stop-go.

The country has a sports betting business, provided by international operators, but it is unofficial and tolerated by the authorities so far.

It is hoped that the monopoly on lotteries held by Caixa will be ended, allowing outside operators to provide at least fixed-odds sports betting. Private lotteries to support tourism and health initiatives are legalised and may be used for betting.