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A year after making sports betting regulation in Brazil official, sports bodies with official rights to benefit from sports betting companies still haven’t utilized the resources from 2025. The reason for this delay cited by those bodies is that there is no specific regulation from the Ministry of Finance that would provide official guidance on where those resources will be directed.
As per the estimates highlighted in the publication Máquina do Esporte, the sum remaining idle could be in the range of BRL 250 million to BRL 280 million. These funds could have otherwise been deployed in sports development programs for athletes, training for competitions, attending national and international events, and sports infrastructure maintenance. The caution holding back this expenditure lies in its potential impact.
Funds Are Not Tax Waivers, but Doubts Persist
As per existing taxation regulations, contributions by gaming houses to bypass taxation are not exempted. Beneficiaries of this funding under existing regulations have full liberty to spend it without requiring them to file expenditure accounts. Despite this, there exists a divergence in their scope within the authorities and beneficiary institutions, thus applying conservatism in their implementation by sports committee institutions.
The list of entities under the legislation consists of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC), the Brazilian Paralympic Club Committee (CBCP), the Brazilian University Sports Confederation (CBDU), the Brazilian School Sports Confederation (CBDE), and the Brazilian Masters Sports Committee (CBEM).
The Missing Ordinance and the Government’s Position
According to the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF), these transfers are achieved through Article 30 of Law number 13,756/2018. Other than sports committees, sectors that benefit through this law include: the sports minister, state secretariats, and sectors like social security, education, health, public safety, and tourism.
As indicated by the SPA/MF, it is up to the secretariat to determine how these transactions must be regulated and not how the money is utilized. The ordinance number 41/2025 states that it is mandatory that these payments be made monthly and directly by betting companies to beneficiary entities. The ministry has made it a point that it does not have any intentions of issuing any rules about how money is utilized.
COB and CPB Choose Caution
The Brazilian Olympic Committee has received BRL 95.52 million from gaming operators in 2025, but it has yet to spend the funds. According to Marcelo Vido, a former Brazilian basketball player and operations director at the COB, “Regarding the resources originating from betting companies, the Brazilian Olympic Committee is awaiting federal government regulation that will define the nature and the form of use of these amounts.” He added that the committee is in ongoing dialogue with other organizations and government representatives to ensure the funds are eventually used efficiently.
A similar situation exists at the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, which received approximately BRL 57 million in 2025. Paulo Losinskas, CPB’s legal director, stated: “The CPB has adopted a cautious position in applying these resources, considering that 2025 was the first year of transfers and that the regulatory framework still needs to mature.”
New Concerns and Oversight Challenges
Apart from the challenges posed by the uncertainty of the amounts used, the sports committees are also worried about the transparency of the amounts transferred into the funds. As the sports committees are not privy to the tax returns of the betting companies, they rely on the amounts stated by the betting companies. As stated by the COB, among the 81 licensed betting companies in Brazil, only 70 have contributed as expected.
To deal with such problems, leaders in the committee intend to call meetings with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sport through the National Council for Sports Committees (CNCE), which was established. There will be negotiations in the future on obtaining legal clarity and improved oversight.
Source: iGaming Brasil
