ANJL questions CIDE-Bets, warns against illegal market advance
The approval in the Senate of Bill 5,582/2025, known as the Anti-Faction Bill, reactivated criticism from the regulated betting sector in Brazil. The initiative, which toughens penalties against organized crime, also incorporates the so-called CIDE-Bets, a 15 percent contribution applied to deposits made by bettors on online platforms.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) reiterated its rejection of this new tax and warned that the measure could produce effects contrary to official objectives. According to the entity, directly taxing deposits encourages the migration of players to clandestine operators, many of them outside any fiscal or regulatory control.
The president of the ANJL, Plínio Lemos Jorge, pointed out that there is a mistaken perception about the real impact of the tax burden. “It starts from the wrong idea that the sector’s tax weight is low, when in reality it adds to a set of already very significant obligations,” he explained. For the association, introducing a new tax at this stage generates uncertainty in a market that is still in the process of regulatory consolidation.
From the ANJL and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR), they emphasize that there are no successful international precedents of taxation on player deposits. Cases like Colombia and the Netherlands show that this type of scheme usually results in a decline in formal revenue and strengthening of the illegal offer.
The sector’s central argument points to a practical issue. With CIDE-Bets, a deposit of R$100 automatically becomes R$85, while on unregulated platforms the player retains the full amount. That difference, they warn, creates an immediate advantage for the clandestine market, weakening both consumer protection and the State’s revenue capacity.
The ANJL also highlights that platforms act as custodians of the funds, which remain the property of the user. For this reason, they consider that taxing the deposit is equivalent to charging a tax for depositing money into a bank account or loading a prepaid card, something that has no precedent in the Brazilian tax system.
Another point of concern is legal certainty. The sector recalls that companies entered the regulated market responding to a call from the State itself, making significant investments and assuming relevant fiscal commitments. For 2025, licensed platforms estimate contributions close to R$9 billion in federal taxes, in addition to municipal taxes and the 12 percent rate on GGR.
The bill’s rapporteur, Senator Alessandro Vieira, defended the inclusion of CIDE-Bets by pointing out that it could generate up to R$30 billion annually, intended to finance public security actions and the penitentiary system. “Without resources, there is no effective fight against crime,” he stated during the debate.
With the modifications introduced in the Senate, the bill now returns to the Chamber of Deputies. The ANJL insists on the need for a deeper technical debate, warning that poorly calibrated measures could end up strengthening the illegal market and eroding the regulated model that Brazil seeks to consolidate.
Tags: Brazil, Brazil betting, Brazil betting taxes, CIDE-Bets tax, ANJL