“The idea of this project, which was approved by the government of then President Michel Temer, is to promote tourism. They want to create casinos in the Northeast, to create bookmakers. Do something similar to what happens in the United States, in Las Vegas,” says Fred.
Online betting houses are increasingly common in the daily lives of fans, and the international betting market is estimated to move 1.8 trillion euros a year. In Brazil, the sites are a "gray zone", as explained by lawyer Luciano Andrade Pinheiro, a partner at Corrêa da Veiga Advogados and a specialist in sports law.
“These sites that operate in Brazil are not hosted here, but abroad. We understand that whoever makes this sports bet in Brazil is not committing any type of illegal act, no criminal offense,” he reveals.
At first, Caixa Econômica Federal will not be involved with online bookmakers, as the law provides for a competition regime. Thus, after regulation, private companies will have to comply with requirements set by the government.
But what about result manipulation?
In January, a report by Fred Justo for Esporte Espetacular published a manipulation scheme in the lower divisions of Rio de Janeiro football. Brazilian law does not provide for criminal liability for legal entities. The most common alternative is to act on managers, athletes or referees involved in the scheme.
In Brazil, the legislation was changed after the ‘Mafia of the Whistle’ case, as revealed by lawyer Tiago Horta Barbosa, consultant in integrity in the sport. Clubs may suffer sporting sanctions based on the FIFA code, as the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice (CBJD) has gaps and does not speak specifically of match fixing.
“We have a law since the ‘Mafia of the Whistle’ case with Edilson Pereira de Carvalho. In 2010, three articles dealing with the manipulation of results were included in the Fan Statute. Only, until today, nobody has been criminally punished in Brazil for that. It generates an idea of impunity. If this answer is not given well, all the work to detect fraud is going downhill,” he says.
What is the difference, for example, between sports lotteries and online bookmakers? The full debate is available on the podcast Rodada Tripla, by Amanda Kestelman, Ana Thais Matos and Bárbara Coelho. The episodes air every Monday at 8pm.
Source: ge.globo/rodadatripla
