Brazil announces licensing process for online betting and gaming with £4.5m license fee

Licensing

Brazil’ Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (Gaming Authority) published ordinance to establish general rules for the authorization procedure, including minimum documentation and applicable fees.

The Ordinance stipulates that only legal entities incorporated under Brazilian law as limited liability companies (sociedade limitada) or corporations (sociedade anônima) with headquarters and administration within Brazil may apply for authorization to operate fixed-odds betting.

This authorization will be granted for five year-term, subject to a payment of BRL 30 million ( £4.5m ) and a limit of up to three commercial brands that can be exploited through electronic channels under the authorization.

Legal qualification: companies must present corporation documents and other forms and written statements, including identification of controllers, holders of qualified participation, administrators, and ultimate beneficiaries and registration of financial institutions or payment providers that will offer financial services to the operator.

The Ordinance also allows operators to request additional authorizations to operate more commercial brands beyond the prescribed limit of three per authorization. In such cases, the betting operator will need to make an additional payment for the authorization fee (BRL 30 million), establish an additional financial reserve (BRL 5 million), and contribute an additional BRL 15 million to the share capital.

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