ANJL warns about the risks of CIDE-Bets with a 15% tax rate on bettors' deposits.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) expressed concern about the proposed creation of a Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain (CIDE) on sports betting. The position was released this Wednesday (4) in Brasília and specifically questions the 15% rate that would apply to bettors' deposits on platforms, as foreseen in the report of Bill 5.582/2025.
The organization argues that the measure proposed in the bill needs broader discussion with representatives from the sector, considering the context of the Legal Framework for Combating Organized Crime. The taxation would affect the guidelines established to guarantee the economic viability of operations and the protection of users.
Despite concerns, the Senate plenary approved on Wednesday night (10) the bill that establishes a legal framework for combating organized crime in Brazil. The approved text is a version by the rapporteur, Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), of PL 5.582/2025, from the Executive Branch.
The proposal, which was considered by the Plenary under urgent procedure, was approved in a roll-call vote by 64 to 0 and will return to the Chamber of Deputies because it was modified in the Senate. In a new vote by the Chamber's Plenary, the deputies will assess whether or not to accept the modifications suggested by the senators.
International experience and market risks
ANJL highlights that no country has successfully implemented taxation on bettors' deposits. The association points out that when users notice any kind of taxation on deposited amounts, they migrate to clandestine operators.
This concern is shared by the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), which strongly condemned the approval of the Cide-Bets tax by the Senate's Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee, considering that the measure could strengthen organized crime. According to the institute, by taxing the bettor's deposit at 15%, the State creates a situation where R$ 100,00 is worth only R$ 85,00 in regulated companies, while in the black market the same value remains the full amount, encouraging migration to illegal platforms.
International experience is cited as evidence of the risks of this tax model. In Colombia, the implementation of taxation on deposits resulted in a drop of over 30% in state revenue and a significant increase in the illegal market. The Netherlands also recorded growth in unregulated operators after raising the tax burden.
The entity also emphasizes that betting platforms function as depositories for customer funds. The money, even after being deposited on the platform, remains the bettor's property. ANJL compares the situation to a hypothetical scenario of taxation on bank deposits or prepaid card top-ups.
Taxing this stage of the operation would create an unprecedented precedent in the Brazilian tax system, according to the association. ANJL believes that there are more efficient alternatives to finance public security, such as using part of the existing revenue from taxation on GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue).
According to the organization, introducing a new tax is problematic because the regulated betting market in Brazil is still in its initial implementation phase. The association argues that the measure would generate unpredictability and legal uncertainty, as well as compromise the confidence of companies that have invested billions of reais to formalize their operations in the country.
Fund to combat organized crime
Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), rapporteur for the matter in the CCJ (Committee on Constitution, Justice and Citizenship) and in the Plenary, introduced the creation of a specific fund to finance the fight against organized crime. This fund will be supplied by the CIDE-Bet (a tax on sports betting) through resources from the 15% tax on sports betting, known as "bets". Estimates from the Central Bank cited in the report indicate that this mechanism could generate approximately R$ 30 billion.
The Parliamentary Front for the Free Market also positioned itself against the creation of the Cide-Bets tax, warning that the new tax could strengthen the illegal betting market.
The approved text also proposes the creation of the Special Regime for Exchange and Tax Regularization (RERCT) Zero Bets Litigation, which will be a mechanism for the voluntary declaration of assets related to fixed-odds betting, with an Income Tax rate of 15%, plus a 100% penalty on the increase in assets verified until December 31, 2024.
Anti-gang bill: proposal that promises to combat gangs ends up strengthening criminal organizations by pushing gamblers into the illegal market.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) expresses deep concern about the approval, yesterday, in the plenary session of the Federal Senate, of the Anti-Faction Bill (PL 5.582/2025). The text includes the creation of a Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain (CIDE) of 15% on deposits made by bettors — a measure that significantly alters the tax structure of the betting sector in the country.
There is, however, a central contradiction in the approved bill: while the bill aims to combat criminal factions, the creation of a CIDE tax on deposits tends to strengthen precisely the organizations that the text intends to confront. By overtaxing the regulated market, the State pushes bettors towards illegal platforms—many of them operated by criminal networks with global reach. In practice, the measure weakens the legal environment, reduces revenue, and expands the economic power of groups operating outside the law.
“There is a misconception that the total tax burden would be only 12%. In practice, this 12% represents an additional component to all the taxes already paid by any company in Brazil,” explains the president of ANJL, Plínio Lemos Jorge. According to him, the chosen calculation basis is inadequate and disconnected from the real functioning of the industry. “Our concern is that the proponents of the measure are not clear about its impacts and the serious economic consequences it will bring to the sustainability of the regulated market,” he states.
The creation of a new tax precisely at a time when the regulated market is still consolidating increases unpredictability, weakens legal certainty, and undermines the confidence of companies that have invested billions in formalizing the sector, responding to a call from the government itself. Therefore, ANJL appeals to the deputies to reconsider the measure during the new analysis of the bill.
With the approved amendments, the text returns to the Chamber of Deputies. For ANJL, the current stage of the project demands even greater urgency in holding a technical debate with the sector, especially because the proposal is part of the Legal Framework for Combating Organized Crime. The measure directly impacts the recently established regulation, which defines essential parameters for the economic viability of the activity and for the protection of bettors.
The Association emphasizes that no country in the world has succeeded in taxing bettors' deposits. "This occurs for a simple and internationally recognized reason: upon noticing taxation on the deposited amount, the user automatically migrates to clandestine operators, frustrating the central objective of regulation, which is to bring the market into legality," explains Lemos Jorge.
ANJL also points out that the betting operator acts as a custodian of the client's funds — which remain the bettor's property even after the deposit on the platform. "Taxing this step would be equivalent to charging a tax for someone depositing money into a bank account or loading a prepaid card — a dangerous precedent without parallel in the Brazilian tax system," emphasizes the president.
The Association believes there are far more effective and less harmful alternatives for funding public safety initiatives, such as allocating a portion of the already substantial revenue from Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). This would avoid the creation of a new tax and preserve the regulatory environment built up to this point.
