Interested in increasing its share of betting money, the CBF filed a demand with the Ministry of Finance for changes in the law that will regulate the sector. In parallel, the confederation has held meetings with clubs, in an attempt to align the distribution of these funds.
Today, according to the text of Law 13,756/18, Brazilian sports entities that transfer their brands to bookmakers will be entitled to 1.63% of the net revenue obtained by betting lotteries. CBF's intention is to replace this percentage by another, 4% on gross revenue.
The confederation also suggests that the government recognize that the financial transfer would be remuneration for the use of brands of club and championships. If money is categorized in this way and not as public, the entity will be free from inspection by public bodies.
In addition, the CBF defends the creation of a register of bookmaker operators, whose control would remain with the confederation itself. It justifies that the registry would serve to supervise the assignment of commercial rights, control transfers and create mechanisms against manipulation of results. Bookmakers will still need the government grant.
Negotiation status
The demands were taken to the Executive by Alcino Rocha, announced by the CBF, in January of this year, as its general secretary. He submitted the requests to the Ministry of Finance, through the Secretariat for Economic Reforms, which in turn consulted the Federal Revenue Service.
The attempt was not well received by either the ministry or the supervisory body, so the confederation is trying to arrange a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister Fernando Haddad.
The schedule became a hindrance. Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the CBF, will travel to Europe to hire the coach of the Brazilian national team. On the date of his return, Lula and Haddad will be traveling to China. In this case, there must be a meeting with the second name in the Treasury hierarchy, the executive secretary Gabriel Galípolo, and with the secretary Marcos Pinto.
Sought by ge, the CBF said in a note that the document delivered to the Ministry of Finance with the claims "is still preliminary."
“The CBF clarifies that it will not yet comment on the matter. The document in question, sent at the request of the Ministry of Finance, is still preliminary. It is a complex and unprecedented issue. Therefore, it will be the object of appreciation by all parties involved,” he wrote.
Alignment with clubs
In parallel with the negotiation with the Ministry of Finance, the CBF tries to align the discourse with club leaders. There was a video conference meeting on Wednesday of last week. Alcino Rocha, secretary general of the entity, and representatives of the clubs participated in it.
At the meeting, the confederation presented its proposal for the division of money from betting. From what is collected, the CBF proposes to transfer 80% to the clubs and keep 20% with itself.
The justification is that, while the clubs grant the use of their brands, the confederation does the same with the rights of competitions, such as the Copa do Brasil.
Clubs from Rio and São Paulo made the first move this Monday (3) afternoon. In a joint note, they demand to participate in the debate on betting regulation. Botafogo, Corinthians, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras, Santos, São Paulo and Vasco sign the text.
According to leaders heard by ge, there is no backstage or alignment, or divergence between clubs and the confederation. Leaders only recognized that they need to participate directly in the negotiation, and not through the CBF.
Understand the flow of money
Fixed odds bookmakers were authorized to operate in Brazil in 2018, after then President Michel Temer sanctioned Law 13,756. After almost five years, the legislation has not yet been regulated, that is, no rules have been formulated for its operation.
The subject returned to the agenda with the election of Lula and the appointment of Haddad to the Ministry of Finance. Haddad has been under pressure to reduce the gap in public accounts and has placed the regulation of betting as a priority, as there will be taxation on games. The minister expects to collect up to R$ 15 billion in new taxes.
As the law is written today, firstly, the payment of prizes to gamblers, the contribution to social security and the Income Tax levied on the prizes are deducted from the gross revenue. On the remainder, the net income, the division applies:
By demanding 4% of gross revenue, instead of 1.63% of net revenue, the CBF would significantly increase the amount transferred to itself and to the clubs.
Since money is finite, the practical consequence would be a reduction in the amounts dedicated to other purposes, whether for the government or for bookmakers.
Companies in the field would be harmed by the change in calculation, according to lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia, from the Maia e Yoshiyasu Advogados office, which serves betting companies.
“This type of proposal demonstrates a lack of knowledge about how sports betting works. The operator's profit margin, which is variable, is normally close to 5% of the collected amount. If the CBF gets 4% of the revenue, the company will end up suffering a loss,” says the lawyer.
The position of the CBF
Note sent to the report in full:
"The CBF clarifies that it will not yet comment on the matter. The document in question, sent at the request of the Ministry of Finance, is still preliminary. It is a complex and unprecedented issue. Therefore, it will be the object of appreciation by all parties involved.
As part of this process, representatives of clubs from series A and B, including, met with the CBF last week for discussions on the subject. All clubs present were informed that the document presented was not a definitive text, only a starting point.
‘We will do the same with representatives of the C and D series and women's football. In my tenure at the head of the CBF, open and democratic dialogue will always be respected. Our commitment is to listen and give voice to everyone. Undeniably, betting revenue it is another source of income for the clubs. But it is necessary to understand, discuss and reach a consensus,’ highlighted the president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues.
Only after extensive debate, the agenda for a provisional measure will be forwarded to the Federal Government."
Source: ge
