Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel is to offer daily fantasy sports betting in Brazil through a multi-year partnership with local media giant Grupo Global.
aThe fantasy sports betting will be available through Grupo Global’s Cartola FC fantasy sports business, under the Cartola Express brand.
“In Cartola FC, Grupo Globo has built a pioneer in the Brazilian fantasy sports market, offering millions of players access to a first-class entertainment platform which is integrated across a vast sports media portfolio,” said Amy Howe, CEO of FanDuel.
“This exciting initiative allows us to contribute to that success by adding FanDuel’s proven product capabilities and cutting-edge services. We’re looking forward to being a part of this initiative, offering players a new service and the next generation of fantasy sports in Brazil.”
Grupo Global is a major media conglomerate in Brazil, comprising a network of companies across multiple platforms and channels. It claims to reach 99.6% of the country’s population through its news, sports and entertainment programmes.
“Daily fantasy sports is a fast-growing form of entertainment in Brazil and Cartola Express has the potential to take this to the next level,” said Newton Filho, CEO of Cartola Express operator DFS Entretenimento.
“We’re proud to count on the expertise of FanDuel, which has been a leader in this field in the United States for more than 10 years, and we’re confident that our players will enjoy the benefits of their experience.”
The deal has been struck as Brazilian lawmakers work to regulate real-money betting. Legislation was first signed into law in December 2018 by Michel Temer, who was Brazil’s outgoing president at the time.
This allowed the country’s National Congress to develop sports betting regulations in a two-year window, with the option to extend for another two years.
In February 2020, the country’s Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery launched a third consultation on fixed-odds sports betting, which delayed the launch of a legal market due to a change in approach.
Initially, all applicants who met the conditions for a licence were set to receive one. However, this February consultation saw that framework changed to a tender model where only a certain amount of licences were available.
President Jair Bolsonaro then appointed managers to oversee the tender process in August 2020. signed a decree adding it to the country’s Investment Partnership Program.
In July 2021, the Brazilian government passed a regulatory amendment to chapter 30 of Law 13,756, which saw gambling tax implemented on gross gaming revenue instead of turnover.
The new system sees tax calculated after winnings, taxes on winnings, and social security payments are paid out. Prior to this taxes were collected at a rate of 3% from turnover.
This was first approved by the Chamber of Deputies in June.
