According to government sources heard by CNN, the Institutional Relations Secretariat team, led by Minister Alexandre Padilha, is already talking to congressmen about the possibility of moving forward with the text and received a sign of sufficient support in the Legislature for regulating the activity of the sports betting houses.
This support, however, would not mean the endorsement of the project that is already being discussed in Congress and regulates the activity of casinos (a proposal rejected, mainly, by the evangelical group).
As CNN informed, the government's economic team is studying the issue of a provisional measure (PM) to regulate the activity of sports betting sites, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. Several of these sites are sponsors of the main Brazilian football teams, in addition to important competitions, such as the Copa do Brasil.
In the calculations of members of the economic team, the arrival of these companies to Brazil could represent a significant increase in revenues, in the range of R$ 5 billion to R$ 6 billion (US$ 960m to US$ 1.15bn).
According to sources from the Planalto Palace and the Ministry of Finance heard by CNN, the Executive Secretary of Finance, Gabriel Galípolo, is in charge of preparing this proposal together with the Federal Revenue Service. The expectation of members of the Treasury is that the text will be sent to the Ministry of Sport in the coming days.
Sports betting has been allowed since the end of 2018, when a law on the subject was enacted. Regulations for its operation, however, do not yet exist.
Lula government's decision comes amid investigations that Serie B players of the Brazilian Football Championship would have participated in a scheme to manipulate results and guarantee betting wins.
In the scheme investigated, which involves an athlete who played for Vila Nova (GO), manipulation took place from penalties committed by players (since bets have become increasingly detailed, involving statistics such as penalties, corners and fouls).
Source: CNN
