Gambling was part of the entertainment of the Romans as demonstrated by archaeological discoveries.
Spanish author Javier Ramos demonstrates that the most famous was the dice game (tesserae), made of bone, metal or ivory, thrown with glasses to prevent fraud and guarantee the confidence of the participants, who spent a good part of their money on this practice, and also as a game of stones (tali) and heads or tails (navia aut capita).
These hobbies were engaged in the life of the Romans, causing persecution of players, known pejoratively as random. Source of heated discussions, the games often ended in corporal confrontations, as recorded in Pompeii frescoes.
In Brazil it is Law 13.756 / 2018, which deals with the National Public Security Fund, which establishes the form of collection of sports bets and the allocation of taxes arising from this activity to this same Fund.
The law in question called sports betting as a fixed-odd bet, which consists of a “betting system related to real sports-themed events, in which it is defined, at the time of placing the bet, how much the bettor can win in the event of a hit prognosis." The system is not new and was already exploited by companies located on foreign soil that operated in Brazil through the internet within a spectrum of illegality.
Stake values on foreign sites can be low. It is possible to bet ridiculous amounts like cents on the dollar. The return is informed at the time of the bet and follows a proportion stipulated by the website itself. The odds (probabilities defined prior to the bet already placed) do not change as the game develops for the chosen prognosis, hence the name fixed odds. In the course of a match, depending on the score and the elapsed time, it becomes possible to bet again, on the same previous forecast, but with a different prize than that established in the previous bet.
In the book “Studies of Sports Law”, written by me in co-authorship with Luciano Andrade Pinheiro, still pending launch, we explained that sports betting houses offer an infinite number of sports for the bettor to choose. Just as an example, the Sporting Bet website offers a wide of options ranging from football - in several tournaments around the world - to the world darts championship. From well-known boxing to chess competitions, including eSports tournaments.
Among all these options, the bettor chooses his favorite sport, the championship and the match. After this choice, the bettor will be presented with a range of options, within that same dispute, of bets that can be placed. Just as an example, in any football match it is possible to bet on the goal scoring player, the winning team, the result combined with number of goals, the number of goals regardless of the winner, result in the first half, result with handicap, first team to score, the minute of the first goal and many others.
It is also worth mentioning that these bets can be combined. The bettor can make his bid, for example, on the team that will win the match combined with the result of the first half. The value of the prize, of course, will be higher in this hypothesis because the chance of hitting two results simultaneously is less and follows the logic of the riskier, the more profitable.
A recent article published by the newspaper “A Bola” showed that the Coronavirus has affected sports betting, as it remains to be demonstrated that the number or name of those infected has the ability to cause variation in the odds, as was found in the game played between the national teams from Portugal and Sweden.
On 10/14, both European teams faced each other in a match valid for the League of Nations. After the official news of the infection of Cristiano Ronaldo and his consequent absence in the dispute, the odds for a Portuguese victory shot in less than two hours from 1.44 to 1.71, demonstrating the mistrust of bettors in the victory of the Portuguese team without its biggest star.
These same oscillations were also highlighted in other European team championships, such as Paris Saint Germain X Olympique Marseille, when the current French champion lost the classic 1-0, in the last month of September.
The impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt, in view of the second wave of the virus in Europe, which is already a reality.
The Champions League returned yesterday (Tuesday 20) and the embezzlement of some athletes can already be felt. UEFA has developed a detailed health protocol that, in principle, allows teams to play even if their members' test results are positive.
As long as a team has a minimum of 13 players available, including a goalkeeper, matches can take place. Clubs will also be able to place players who were not initially registered for the competition to complete the required minimum numbers.
However, national authorities can intervene and determine that the entire squad of a team is quarantined.
Such situations will cause influences and fluctuations in sports betting.
Maurício Corrêa da Veiga
Maurício Corrêa da Veiga is a PhD student in Legal Sciences at the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (UAL); chairman of the IAB Sports Law Commission; professor of Master Diritto e Sport at Sapienza University in Rome; vice-president of the Special Sports Law Commission of the National OAB; founding member of the National Academy of Sports Law; member of the Commission for High Studies of the Special Contract for Sports Work and Sports Justice of the São Paulo Football Federation; lawyer registered with the Brazilian Bar Association and the Portuguese Bar Association; author of 6 books; partner of Corrêa da Veiga Advogados. Write in Lei em Campo in the column “Sem Olé na Lei”.
