Chaired by federal deputy Júlio Arcoverde (PP-PI) and reporting by Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), CPIFUTE, as it was named in the Chamber of Deputies, was created at the request of the rapporteur and aims to investigate allegations of match-fixing in football games, especially in the 2022 Brasileirão Séries A and B and state tournaments.
Installed last week, the Sports Betting CPI will work not only to investigate the complaints presented in the context of Operation Maximum Penalty by the Goiás Public Ministry, after the president of Vila Nova, Hugo Jorge Bravo denounced a betting manipulation scheme, but also to propose a bill to regulate the activity.
The government, which presented a draft of a Provisional Measure (PM) to regulate the sports betting sector, is on hold due to the installation of the CPI. The draft itself may become a Bill as the Committee progresses.
Several fronts
After the first meeting, still informal, the president of the CPI stated that nothing will be left aside in the analysis of the deputies. Júlio Arcoverde said that the commission “will be open to several lines of investigation”. According to the deputy, the work will be based on the Internal Regulations of the Chamber and that today (Tuesday, 23) the work plan will be defined and the group will be organized by specific themes. "In addition, we will define how the testimonies will take place and who will be summoned and invited."
He does not rule out a possible ban on certain types of bets, such as cards or corners, as has been suggested by some politicians and the press. “It is not in our plans to define this, but all options are on the table.”
Initially, the president of the CPI intends for the investigations to focus on football, but the possibility of being extended to other sports could happen during the course of discussions and meetings, and even due to the fact that the Federal Police (FP) have opened an investigation into an alleged manipulation scheme of matches involving volleyball athletes, confirmed by the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino.
Almost 90 summons for now
The lists of those summoned and invited to testify at the CPI of Sports Betting are already starting to circulate. Presidents of the vast majority of clubs that compete in Série A of the Brasileirão are already among those who will be called.
CPI members also want to hear from experts in the areas of compliance and from sports data companies such as Sportradar and Stats Perform.
Some of those already included in the list are the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues; the CEO of the National Association of Games and Lotteries, Wesley Cardia; the president of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, Andre Gelfi,; the head of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association, Rodrigo Alves; directors of federations and clubs, and athletes, among others.
Also listed are the names of the main managers of bookmakers operating in Brazil, as well as payment method companies operating in the segment. In total, the Chamber of Deputies already has almost 90 requests for invitation/summons.
The first testimonials will come from representatives of the Goiás Public Prosecutor's Office and leaders of the clubs involved in the Maximum Penalty Operation. It will be up to rapporteur Felipe Carreras to define how the group will work and the order in which those summoned will be heard.
Member of the CPI, federal deputy Daniel Freitas (PL-SC), stated that the group has “a great mission. It will be an investigative process that will certainly raise facts, data and arguments so that we can find the culprits and punish them to stop corruption in Brazilian football.”
Assistance in regulation
Paulo Azi, federal deputy for the Union, from Bahia, is also part of the Commission and said that "the purpose of the CPI is, on the one hand, to help the bodies that are already investigating the case to also contribute to this investigation, listening to those involved in this scandal. On the other hand, propose some amendments to the legislation. Be they increasing the punishment for those people who engage in this type of crime, or also contributing to propose a regulation of betting in Brazil. The federal government has already forwarded a provisional measure dealing with this matter, and I believe that it can be greatly improved due to the debates, the negotiations and what is raised in the scope of the investigation of this CPI."
Azi has no doubts that the group will contribute to the regulation of the sector. “I think it serves to reach those involved in the case and, on the other hand, prevent these problems from occurring again, and this is prevented by regulating bets in Brazil and at the same time increasing the rigor of the law so that people feel embarrassed to do so.”
The deputy hopes that everything will return to normal. “We know that today online betting is a reality not only in Brazil but worldwide. These cases of recruiting players do not only occur in Brazil. Today, online gaming are the main sponsors of Brazilian football teams. So we are not thinking about preventing these games from continuing to take place, but rather providing security so that bettors can know that they are competing, playing on equal terms.”
The CPI will work on two fronts, one of which will investigate allegations of match-fixing, and the other will focus on proposing a bill to regulate sports betting.
The sector was legalized in 2018 and after more than four years, the regulation of the activity has not come out for sports betting companies to settle in Brazil, generate the formal jobs that the country needs and start collecting the due taxes.
Source: GMB
