On 2 December, the committee advanced bill PL 5,473/2025, which outlines a stepped tax hike for licensed operators. The current 12% rate would move to 15% during 2026 and 2027, before climbing to 18% in 2028.
Lawmakers backed the measure by a 23–1 margin, ultimately settling on a rate well below the 24% figure that was originally floated. It’s also significantly lower than the 50% that had also been attempted.
Projections assume that the increase will add R$5bn (€805.6mn) to Brazil’s economy in 2026, R$6.3bn the year after and R$6.7bn in 2028.
The proposal now heads to the Chamber of Deputies for its next review, unless an appeal to stop its progress is made before the Senate.
If enacted, the updated rates would begin applying on the first day of the fourth month after the law is officially published.
Brazil launches public consultation on gambling
At the same time, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has initiated a public consultation to guide the country’s gambling oversight.
The consultation is part of the 2026–2027 Regulatory Agenda of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). It opened on 1 December and will remain available for contributions over a 45-day period.
The SPA, created under Decree 11,907/2024, oversees regulation, authorisation, supervision and enforcement across all commercial promotions, lottery formats and prize-based activities.
Its remit includes the Instant Lottery (Lotex) and fixed-odds betting, the latter of which was legalised in 2018 and expanded through legislation in 2023.
The goal of the upcoming agenda is to update regulatory priorities across all areas of the Secretariat’s authority, reflecting both recent market developments and public policy needs.
According to the Secretariat, this cycle invites participation from bettors, consumers, industry professionals and operators.
Officials stated that the consultation is intended to strengthen transparency and align regulatory planning with societal expectations.
SPA secretary Regis Dudena said the agency recognises the onus on regulators to maintain predictable cycles while signaling which themes will be addressed and when.
He noted that broad engagement helps refine regulatory performance and clarify expectations for the next two years.
As with the process conducted in early 2025 for the current 2025–2026 agenda, the new consultation asks respondents to identify priority topics and propose the order in which they should be handled.
New agenda to be presented next February
Submissions will be accepted until 14 January, after which the Secretariat plans to finalise and release the agenda by late February.
One of the salient changes this year is the adoption of a new digital platform for public participation.
Earlier contributions were collected through Participa + Brasil, but in September, the federal government consolidated its participatory tools under the Participatory Brazil Program.
The updated system will serve as the exclusive channel for receiving feedback in this cycle.
The forthcoming 2026–2027 agenda will be the third formal roadmap issued since the SPA’s creation.
Each agenda reflects the cyclical nature of the Secretariat’s work, requiring periodic reassessment of regulatory needs, enforcement structures and sectoral developments.
The first agenda, centred on fixed-odds betting regulation, concluded on 31 July last year.
Under the current 2025–2026 cycle, the SPA has advanced all scheduled items for 2025 and recently deployed its betting-exclusion module.
Individuals receiving Bolsa Família and Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) assistance have already been incorporated, and the Centralized Self-Exclusion Platform is scheduled to launch on 10 December.
The Ministry of Finance describes the public consultation as a pragmatic step toward refining national oversight in a rapidly evolving sector.
Dingnews.com 05/12/2025