Presided over by deputy Julio Arcoverde, the Parliamentary Commission of Investigation (CPI) into match-fixing was installed on May 17 following investigations carried out by the Goiás Public Ministry that raised suspicions of manipulation in the results of four series B games.
After numerous meetings, in which numerous people involved in criminal practices were heard, as well as sports directors, referees and members of the Brazilian Football Confederation, nothing indicated involvement of bookmakers in irregular practices.
During the CPI, several deputies asked for sports betting houses to be heard, but given the accusations against the companies that operate betting, they were not invited as they were not the subject of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry.
However, parliamentarians listened to – and learned a lot – the presidents of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, Andre Gelfi, and of the National Association of Games and Lotteries, Wesley Cardia. Both presented at the CPI the routine of a bookmaker and how much they fight against manipulation of results.
The CPI also heard from Sportradar, a company hired by the CBF to monitor championships and a specialist in the topic of integrity and combating match-fixing. It was also a masterclass from Juan Matias Méndez, representative for Latin America at Sportradar.
The CPI meets from 4 pm this Tuesday (26) to discuss and vote on the report. The meeting will take place in Plenary 8 of Annex II of the Chamber of Deputies, broadcast on the Chamber's official YouTube channel.
Source: GMB
