Corruption stalks football from the first whistle. Ugo Giorgette satirizes it in the first sketch of “Boleiros” (1998): a wooden leg gets in the way of the judge's plan played by Otávio Augusto to forge the purchased victory. Hilarious. Reality is less caricatured. This is evidenced, for example, by the manipulation of three Serie B games investigated by the Public Ministry of Goiás.
The case reheats the debate on the regularization of the activity in Brazil. It should have been consummated by the end of last year, as pointed out by law 13,756, of 2018, but expired in the face of political impasses. The regulatory limbo varnishes the risk of scams and an evasion of the money moved by the approximately 500 gambling operators accessible to Brazilians, but not taxed. The government fails to collect up to R$ 6 billion (US$ 1.16b) per year, calculates the Treasury.
The recent fraud adds to scams such as the Loteria Esportiva Mafia, revealed by the magazine Placar, in 1985; and Mafia do Apito, tampering with results orchestrated by referee Edilson Pereira at the Brasileiro2005 tournament. Portraits of a threat whose extent and sophistication advance in step with the growth of the trillion-dollar online sports betting industry. Just one match in our Série A moves something around R$ 100 million (US$ 19.4b) in bets.
“By eroding the credibility of sporting merit, these crimes not only threaten the market. They threaten football itself,” warns PUC-Rio professor Job Gomes, coordinator of the postgraduate course in Sports Law. In a telephone conversation, he suggests a pact for transparency, legal certainty, inspection. He is categorical: “It is not enough to regulate.”
Does the alleged manipulation of Serie B games, investigated since February by the Public Ministry, reinforce the need for electronic betting regulation as one of the mechanisms to contain these scams?
Regulating online sports betting is one of the steps to reduce the risk of fraud, as it provides legal certainty. But regulation is not enough. A pact of transparency and oversight is needed, with political, managerial and technological advances.
What would change with the regulation?
There would be gains in legal security and tax collection. There would be clarity on the types of bets or games, on the agents and processes of the operation, on the rights and duties of those involved, on the current data, on the taxation of the activity.
If regulation is so important, why has it been skating for at least three years in Congress?
We know that the issue is complex. It involves political, moral, economic aspects. By allowing digital betting, with Law 13,756, of 2018, the Temer government determined that they should be regulated by the end of last year. But the Bolsonaro government let the deadline expire, probably for moral reasons, so as not to displease evangelicals in an election year. Now the Lula government seems inclined to regulate, and the proposal gains strength. The tax appeal is preponderant.
Like this?
Without regulation, Brazil fails to collect up to R$ 6 billion (US$ 1.16b) annually. Only the structure and license for each bookmaker to operate would yield around R$ 25 million (US$ 4.85m) to the public coffers. The regulation is part of an inevitable adaptation to this already consolidated and growing industry, including among Brazilians.
Well, even though they are not regulated here, electronic betting is expanding in the country...
Exactly, factors such as our visceral connection with football and the intense use of cell phones make Brazil fertile ground for this business. The Brazilian market is explored by more than 400 digital betting operators. With the regulation, they would have headquarters in the country. And the billions moved would be taxed. Furthermore, legal certainty and transparency would reduce the risk of fraud, which threatens not only the betting market, but the relationship with professional football, its sociocultural and symbolic role in modern society.
What legal and managerial model should we be inspired by so that regulation effectively contains blows and reconciles economic, cultural and social interests around football?
The English model seems to me to be the best inspiration, as it reconciles legal, cultural, economic and associative aspects. In England, electronic betting is perfectly linked to football culture, with the harmonious involvement of clubs, federations, legislators, managers, fans. In Portugal, for example, regulation did not have the same efficiency. This shows that regulation needs to be well structured, well-adjusted to sociocultural and political issues, and accompanied by managerial, supervisory and technological improvements. This pact must aggregate from parliamentarians to sports organizations.
Alexandre Carauta
Professor at PUC-Rio, PhD in Communication, Master in Business Management, postgraduate in Sports Administration, also graduated in Physical Education. Organizer of the book “Strategic communication in sport”.
Source: VejaRio
