Brazilian Government to Consider Ban on Bets with Negative Outcomes

The Chember's Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) in Brazil has established two primary goals: criminal investigation and sector regulation. The latter will include debating whether to outlaw sports betting that stems from 'negative aspects', such as penalties, bookings, and corners. 

This concept was highlighted in the inquiry into the Maximum Penalty Operation, and it appears to be one of the most exploited areas for manipulation, according to the Public Ministry of Goias. Unfortunately, regulated sports betting operators have not welcomed the proposed measure.

Before coming up with a proposal to ban this type of wager, technicians will evaluate the laws of other nations. Legislators should consider the practicality of incorporating the ban into the text formulated by the Executive Branch to control taxation in sports betting, which is ready for Congress discussion. 

Last Thursday, the president of the CPI, Deputy Julio Arcoverde, and rapporteur, Felipe Carreras, convened the first technical assembly to agree upon the inquiry's plan, which will be further specified. This CPI's tenure lasts 120 days, and the report must be ready by September 28 if there's no extension.

Investigating Match-Fixing Athletes

The CPI was approached by seven legislative representatives on its first day, requesting investigations into the findings of the Public Ministry of Goias. Additionally, they asked the commission to summon eight athletes allegedly involved in sports match-fixing. The representatives want the president of Vila Nova Futebol Clube, Hugo Jorge Bravo, to appear as a witness for reporting the potential incident to the Goias authorities.

The first people to be investigated include:

• Eduardo Bauermann
• Gabriel Tota
• Paulo Miranda
• Igor Carius
• Matheus Gomes
• Fernando Neto
• Kevin Lomonaco
• Victor Ramos

Julio Arcoverde, CPI's president, said that the request for prosecutors to join the Goias MP is meant to "accelerate the work" of the team. Through the support of the prosecution, the CPI will progress in other areas and strive to wrap up the inquiry before the conclusion of the Brazilian Championship this year.

Arcoverde stated:

“We want to buy time and complete the work before the end of the Brazilian Championship, so that there is no stain on the divisions with games in progress. In this way, we count on collaboration and access to information from the MP of Goiás. Not by chance, the athletes already mentioned will be automatically called to testify as well. In a second stage, we intend to call arbitration to testify. Who makes and how does the arbitration scales across the country? What is the transparency of this choice? But, we already take it for granted, even before the beginning of the work, that the final report of the CPI will ask for the creation of a bill to regulate betting.”