Sports betting is illegaly offered in Rio de Janeiro streets

About a month ago, bicheiros " cariocas” (from Rio de Janeiro) start accepting bets on matches of the Brazilian, the billionaire Champions League and the Libertadores. Last week, they were accepting also bets on matches of the Brazil Cup and of tournaments in Germany, Russia, Argentina, Israel and Ecuador, among others.

In addition to football matches, bicheiros also accept hunches in volleyball matches and fights, such as the UFC. The model adopted by them is similar to the one of European countries, that use pages in the internet to receive the bets.

This mode is one of the main collectors of the lottery industry in the world. Since 2011, the federal government tries to regulate in Brazil something similar.

Currently, in the country, it is prohibited to economically exploit bets on sports results, either as a bettor or by organizing stalls. The act constitutes criminal contravention, with a penalty of 3 months to 1 year in prison and a fine for whoever organizes the activity. Whoever gets caught betting, may have to pay a fine from R$ 2,000 to R$ 200,000 (US$ 635 to US$ 63,500).

According to experts, the national football betting market on registered sites outside the country will move around R$ 4 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) this year. The biggest bookmakers in Europe have pages in Portuguese, which has contributed to attract Brazilians.

The bicheiros accept different types of bets. It is possible to give hints on the winner of the match or only the team that wins the first half. There is also a five-match bonus in each Brazilian round. The winner can receive a prize of up to R$ 15,000 (US$ 4,750) in this modality in the round of the next weekend.

Local media Folha has found at least four betting points in the south and north of Rio. The same scorers that note the game are responsible for collecting sports bets, which are recorded on machines similar to those used for payment on credit cards. The client receives a ticket with the guesses. The group also operates in other cities in Rio state, such as Campos and Macaé.

In 2014, the release of sports betting online was included in the bill to renegotiate club debts, but ended up not happening in Congress.

Past Tuesday (15), CBF announced a partnership with a company that specializes in combatting the manipulation of sporting results. It will monitor the digital data of all Brazilian A, B, C and D series games. The entity also announced the creation of a department to handle the matter.

"The question is whether Brazil will regulate or not," says lawyer Pedro Trengrouse, a specialist in game regulation at the University of Nevada.

Source: GMB / Folha