If Brazilian Senator Ciro Nogueira has his way, online poker could be legalised in the booming Brazilian gambling market, opening up another exciting regional opportunity for the industry.
The Senator has drafted a bill to regulate and tax online sports betting, casino, poker and bingo and proposes a 10 percent of GGR tax rate for operators on taxable revenue that could accrue from a market estimated to be capable of delivering $6.8 billion a year.
The Nogueira proposal could offer a way out of current difficulties in Brazil, where the federal government has reclaimed online licensing privileges and enforcement powers from the provinces.
Horse racing, lotteries and live poker tourneys are currently the only forms of gambling that are permitted in the huge and populous South American nation.
Bill PLS186/2014 authored by the Senator suggests a tempting tax split through which national government would take 7 percent and the province in which an online poker operator is licensed takes 3 percent of the tax raised.