Brazilian lawmakers have demanded that a discussion of soccer integrity take place. As a result of this demand by the Sports Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, “Sports Integrity Week” will take place in September, SBC News reported.
The event is organized by the “Parliamentary Front for the Modernization of Football,” which has urged an open dialogue on soccer (football) integrity among all stakeholders of the sports. The Parliamentary Front is made up of lawmakers from multiple parties.
At that gathering the Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) September 5 will present its “independent integrity report” on Brazilian soccer. It will include a session sponsored by the Special Subcommittee on modernization of the sport.
SIGA said in a statement: “The existing positive dialogue between the parties will be formalized through a Cooperation Agreement, which will highlight the official presentation of the independent report on the future of football in Brazil led by SIGA Latin America.”
Parliamentary Front leader Congressman Eduardo Bandeira de Mell said in a statement: “Our goal is to boost football through public policies, promoting improvement and modernization anchored in environmental, social, and governance principles. It’s essential to engage in deeper discussions with the clubs to ensure financial fair play and sustainability.”
Government ministers and the soccer industry are waiting for a report on “betting fraud and match-fixing scandals” from the Parliamentary Investigation Commission (CPI). The scandals transfixed the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série B, and state championships between 2021 and 2023.
The report has been delayed after the CPI was told by Arthur Lira, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to put a review of the fiscal and economic proposals of the new federal sports betting network at the front of the line.
Earlier this summer President Lula da Silva signed “provisional measure No. 1182” that recreated a federally regulated sports betting market. The proposed regulations address taxation, licensing, creating a regulatory authority and allocating taxes raised by sports betting. The proposal lacks policies on betting integrity and match fixing.
The measure has received more than 250 amendments by lawmakers. A review began August 3 and will go on for 120 days.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has released a statement on steps it has taken to fight match-fixing, Yogonet reported August 21. It intends to approach the International Federation of Association Football. (FIFA) to urge that players involved with match-fixing at home also face restrictions if they try to play in other countries.
CBF also seeks to work with other confederations to ensure that players who have been penalized can’t play in international tournaments.
This appears to be a reference to the former Santos player Eduardo Bauermann who was suspended for 360 days and who later signed a contract with a Turkish soccer team.
Meanwhile the Brazilian Federal Police have carried out a “Maximum Penalty” operation as a result of an investigation of match manipulation in the Brazilian state of Goiás that implicated 13 players.
CBF seeks to extend the punishments meted out to these players internationally.
CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement: “It is important to point out that, as soon as I became aware, through the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Goiás, of the allegations of match-fixing, I forwarded to the Presidency of the Republic and the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, a letter requesting that the Federal Police start to investigate the cases of manipulation of bets, and I had the request promptly answered.”
Meanwhile, the Brazilian Senate August 15 began a session on bill 2.796/2021 which would create a legal structure for electronic and fantasy games. The bill focuses on eSports, leaving online casino games to be addressed in a future bill, Yogonet reported August 21.
The Brazilian Fantasy Sports Association (ABFS) estimates the new industry could generate more than BRL 30 billion (more than $6 billion. But critics of the new bill say it could tax the new industry so much that it would discourage investors. The Senate is looking at a 25 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) and it could be as high as 28 percent.
ABFS said in a statement, “As the ISS tax collected by the Municipalities has rates ranging from 2 percent to 5 percent, and the PIS and COFINS have rates that combined account for 9.25 percent, the sum of these rates ranges between 11.25 percent and 14.25 percent of the collection.”
This means, says the association, that the sector’s tax burden would double, “impacting the generation of new jobs and the capacity for new investments in a promising market, which can grow up to 120% in the next three years.”
Another proposed bill would ban celebrities and influencers from promoting gambling, iGaming Brazil reported August 21. Deputy Ricardo Ayres previously authored a bill that would have prevented advertising of gambling on sports fields.
Ayres’s latest bill says: “the disclosure, promotion or endorsement of gambling companies, casinos in general, gambling or any activity related to gambling, by influencers and digital artists is prohibited.” The bill would also require such celebrities to keep their content free of gambling and betting references. It would apply to all media, including publications, videos, stories or any other form of communication.
Ayres declared, “This bill aims to protect citizens, especially young people, by prohibiting irresponsible advertising of gambling companies by digital influencers and artists.”
Penalties for violating these bans would range from warnings to fines and suspension of business activities for several years. Supporters of the bill maintain that influencers and celebrities have seen gambling-related content increasing.
One critic said, “the rapid growth of social networks and the influence exerted by digital artists on their followers are phenomena that require adequate regulation,” iGaming Brazil reported.
