Two Brazilian municipalities have taken legislative steps towards launching their own lotteries.
In the Municipality of Manaus, Councilman Dione Carvalho put forward a draft Bill to establish the Municipal Lottery of Manaus. The provisions are fully compliant with the modalities established by the federal government of Brazil, covering both retail and online services.
SBC Brazil further revealed that player access would be limited to the geographical confines of the municipality. Moreover, funds will be used to subsidise social projects across health, education, security, sport and culture.
Regulatory oversight will be conducted by the Municipal Secretariat of Finance, Planning, and Information Technology (SEMEF), specific to Manaus.
Carvalho added: “The [Bill] expands the municipality’s revenues without burdening the population with new taxes or with an increase in existing ones.”
The second municipality is that of Barueri, which includes the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Republican Mayor Beto Piteri tabled a proposal to establish the Barueri Municipal Lottery. Similarly to Manaus, proceeds from the lottery will be funneled into public services.
Piteri added: “The money from the municipal lottery will strengthen the budget of essential areas and bring more benefits to the population.”
There are ongoing efforts to ban municipal lotteries from Brazil due to concerns of constitutional infringements, with opposition claiming that municipalities are going beyond the law by managing the lotteries themselves.
The campaign is being led by the Solidarity party, which filed a case file with Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court requesting for the closure of all municipal lotteries across the country. The case is currently being reviewed.
As a reminder, Brazil launched its regulated online betting and gaming market at the start of this year. Of note, a licence to operate in that market costs R$30m (US $6.1m). In comparison, a municipal licence costs between R$5,000 and R$100,000.