Prosecutors have already held meetings with other bodies, including the Ministry of Justice. The PGR opened an investigation against the sports betting industry. Last August 30th, the ministry determined that the Brazilian Football Confederation, Globo and twenty teams from the first division of the Brasileirão present advertising contracts signed with sports betting companies.
The Serie A teams mentioned were América-MG, Athletico-PR, Atlético-GO, Atlético-MG, Avai, Botafogo, Bragantino, Ceará, Corinthians, Coritiba, Cuiabá, Flamengo, Fluminense, Fortaleza, Goiás, Internacional, Juventude, Palmeiras , Santos and Sao Paulo. Another 20 Serie B clubs and twelve state federations were notified.
The regulation of sports betting in the country has not yet been completed and is locked in the Bolsonaro government at the request of the evangelical bench. The deadline for regulation is four years and ends on December 12.
The decree was shelved after federal deputy Marco Feliciano, from the São Paulo PL, convinced the president that the sanction could affect electoral interests among the evangelical public.
Amid the uncertainty, betting companies have been using sites hosted abroad, in countries such as Curaçao, in the Caribbean, and Cyprus, in the Mediterranean.
As sports betting has not been regulated, the Ministry of Justice suspects that “the activity may be being exploited without proper authorization and control, inspection or accountability mechanism.”
Source: Metrópoles
