Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies has approved the so-called “PL Antifacção” package while removing a controversial provision that would have created CIDE-Bets, a 15% tax on deposits made by consumers to regulated fixed-odds sports betting platforms. The decision effectively delivers short-term tax relief to licensed operators and bettors—but also reopens the political fight over how Brazil will fund prison construction and broader public-security priorities.
Local reporting said the deposit tax was struck from the bill via a separate amendment vote in the Chamber, and the measure will now move forward without the CIDE mechanism. Supporters of the tax had framed it as a direct funding stream for building and modernising prisons, arguing that Brazil needs dedicated resources to weaken criminal factions’ influence in the penitentiary system.
Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), who has championed the idea in the broader debate, said the levy could raise as much as R$30 billion for public security—an estimate repeatedly cited by Brazilian media when outlining the proposal’s intent. The plan was also described as a transitional tool until the “Imposto Seletivo” created by Brazil’s tax reform is expected to take effect in 2027.
On the other side, the betting sector and multiple lawmakers warned that a deposit-based tax risks distorting consumer behaviour, increasing churn costs, and pushing wagering back toward unregulated channels—undermining the very compliance and monitoring goals of regulation. Industry coverage also noted that other betting-related fiscal provisions were removed alongside the CIDE article, including elements tied to retroactive taxation concepts.
With the bill advancing without the tax, Brasília now faces a clearer trade-off: maintain a lighter tax footprint to protect regulated market growth, or reintroduce a targeted levy elsewhere to finance security spending.
