Article 3 of Law 14,790, from December 2023, which established the guidelines for the operation of betting platforms, only allows bets on real events related to sports competitions and online virtual games. Bets on events of other natures, such as political events, are prohibited.
The Ministry of Finance reiterated that such practices are improper and announced that it has opened an inspection process. Pixbet attributed the issue to an "operational error by the international market provider" and removed bets related to the Pope after being contacted by Estadão. Flamengo did not comment.
The FlaBet website offered bets on the successor to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, under a section labeled "political competitions." The site also offered bets on Canadian elections, which also violates the main betting law.
On FlaBet’s betting exchange, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin appeared as the favorite. The platform had promised to pay triple the bet amount if he were elected during the conclave.
If Hungarian Péter Erdo were chosen to lead the Catholic Church, FlaBet promised to pay nine times the wagered amount. For less likely candidates, the betting site offered up to 35 times the amount wagered.
In a statement, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF) stated that it had already identified the issue and opened an inspection process.
"The company will be notified to remove from its website all bets that are not authorized by legislation, since only bets on sports events and online games are allowed within the scope of fixed-odds betting," the Secretariat emphasized.
Article 41 of Law 14,790 provides for penalties that can range from warnings, fines of up to R$2 billion (US$352m), to the revocation of the government-issued license to operate betting activities.
When contacted by the report, Pixbet stated that "the initial availability resulted from an operational error by the international market provider, which, although certified and authorized to provide sports and online game events in Brazil, mistakenly exposed these special markets, whose display is restricted by national legislation."
It also pointed out that "upon becoming aware of the improper exposure of a market related to a non-sporting event (specifically, bets on the next pope), it immediately took all necessary measures to remove such a market from the platform."
"The irregular exposure of these markets was improper and unintentional, and does not reflect the company's compliance policy, which diligently works to respect all current regulatory frameworks," the company's statement emphasized.
FlaBet is operated by Pixbet Soluções Tecnológicas, a company based in Paraíba and the main sponsor of Flamengo. To feature its brand in the most prominent space on the Rio de Janeiro club's uniform, the company will pay R$470 million (US$82.7m) over four years, until 2027, according to the commercial partnership announced.
Pixbet is owned by Paraíba businessman Ernildo Junior de Farias Santos. As reported by Estadão, he is working on building political influence with leaders from the Centrão bloc, starting from the interior of Paraíba.
Junior, as he is known, worked to have a close friend, Alexandre Marques (from the União party), elected as mayor of his hometown, Serra Branca, in the Cariri region. Marques, formerly the president of the local football team purchased by Ernildo, ran for office for the first time in 2024.
Source: Estadão
