Eight Companies Come Forward to Operate Sports Betting in Rio de Janeiro

August 16, 2023 | Sports Betting

BRAZIL (August 16, 2023) — Last Friday (11), the deadline for the accreditation of companies interested in the operation of sports betting with the Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro ended. Eight companies have registered with Loterj and the exploration will be through virtual means, with online access, via desktop or mobile (app), VLT (Video Lottery Terminal), POS (Point of Sales) or Terminals/Totems.

Among the companies that presented themselves are 1XBET, Pixbet and Rede Loto, which will pay BRL 5 million for the five-year grant and remuneration of 5% on the gross revenue of games for the Lottery. The autarchy was even questioned by Caixa Econômica Federal in Justice (CEF), to comply with MP 1182/2023, which regulated sports betting in Brazil, published last month. CEF’s question refers to the issue of territoriality, since Loterj has defined that accredited companies will have their operations based in Rio de Janeiro, but will have the possibility of selling bets throughout the country.

However, Loterj’s understanding is that, as it is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, accreditation will be under an integrated system installed in the autarchy itself, which would not exceed the territorial limits of the state. Only the commercialization, in the understanding of Loterj, can happen in any place. Also, Loterj highlighted what determines the federal law that provides for the ISS : “the service is considered rendered, and the tax due, at the place of the providing establishment or, in the absence of an establishment, at the place of domicile of the rendered”.

It is worth noting that the delay in regulation at the federal level, even after the publication of the MP, makes bookmakers move to apply their requests for accreditation in Rio de Janeiro, based on the decision of the Federal Supreme Court that ended the monopoly of the Union in the exploitation of nationally authorized lottery modalities. It is worth remembering that all companies must pass the Proof of Concept (PoC) to start their operations.

Companies that applied for Loterj accreditation: