Legal framework for games advances in the Senate; text goes to plenary

The Senate Education Committee approved this Tuesday (27) bill (PL) 2,796/2021, which creates the legal framework for the electronic games industry, also known as the legal framework for games. The text authored by deputy Kim Kataguiri (União-SP) received a favorable report from senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF) and goes to the Plenary as a matter of urgency.

The proposal regulates the manufacture, import, commercialization, development and commercial use of games. It also addresses issues such as indicative classification, copyright, tax incentives and the creation of a specific regulatory body for the sector.

Under the new framework, electronic games will be defined as computer programs with graphic and audiovisual elements for entertainment purposes, in which the user can control the action and interact with the interface. PL 2,796/2021 also covers devices and accessories used to run games, popularly known as consoles, as well as cell phone applications and internet pages with games.

The text of the bill explicitly excludes slot machines and similar games of chance from the definition. Also excluded are so-called fantasy games, in which participants form imaginary or virtual teams of real players from a professional sport. This type of online gambling is already regulated by Law 14,790, of 2023, which deals with fixed odds bets, known as bets.

The PL also aims to stimulate the increase in jobs by providing incentives for the creation of technical and higher education courses in programming and development of electronic games. And it aims to bring more legal security, in addition to promoting the growth of this market in the country.

With 101 million gamers, Brazil is the 5th largest market in the world in this industry, which lacks regulation and incentives. Therefore, the project has been highlighted as a priority by parliamentarians and even by the federal government.

Tax incentive

The commission approved a substitute for Senator Leila that provides for special treatment for the promotion of games by individual entrepreneurs, business companies, cooperatives, simple companies and individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEI).

In this case, the developers’ gross revenue in the previous calendar year cannot exceed R$16 million. For companies with less than a year of activity, the text establishes the proportional value of R$1.3 million per month of activity.

Another requirement to access special treatment is the use of innovative business models to generate a product or service. They are provided for in Law 10,973, of 2004, which provides for incentives for innovation and scientific and technological research in the productive environment.

The special treatment also applies to those who fall under the Inova Simples special regime, provided for in Complementary Law 123, of 2006. The program is a simplified business formalization process that grants differentiated treatment to initiatives that declare themselves “innovation companies”. The objective is to stimulate the creation, formalization, development and consolidation of agents that induce technological advances, employment and income.

*With information from Agência Senado