The vacancy of the titular secretary has worried companies in the sector interested in entering the Brazilian market. They perceive a lack of leadership in the structure and, confidentially, report difficulty in knowing who to report to in the medium and long term.
Due to the high revenue potential and the fact that the sector is strategic in the sports market, parliamentarians and entrepreneurs have sought influence in the Treasury Department. So far, however, no political figure has assumed functions in the agency. Senator Rogério Carvalho, from the PT of Sergipe, is said to have made a recommendation to Haddad, but the name has not been revealed.
A few weeks ago, Haddad told journalists that the choice of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting will be in charge of the current Secretary of Economic Reforms, Marcos Barbosa Pinto.
Female team
An expert in Constitutional and Administrative Law, Vicentini has extensive experience in legal advisory services for public agencies in the direct and indirect administration—office advisory, executive advisory, chief of staff, Boards of Administration and Fiscal, and management of legal department. Until then, she was the general coordinator of Betting at the Secretariat of Economic Reforms.
Behind the scenes, it is said that Vicentini was a recommendation from the Chief of Staff, Rui Costa.
In a predominantly male market, two other women complete the team that leads SPA: compliance specialist lawyer Raiana Luiza de Andrade Falcão Ferreira was appointed Deputy Secretary of Sanctioning Action, and researcher and professor of tax law Daniela Olimpio de Oliveira assumed as Deputy Secretary of Authorization.
A name has not yet been indicated for the third Subsecretariat, of Monitoring and Inspection, which deals precisely with combating money laundering and other crimes.
Seven other women are also part of the team at the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting:
Virtual Secretary was dismissed
Special Advisor to the Treasury since the beginning of 2023, lawyer José Francisco Manssur was the right name to assume the secretary, but he was dismissed in mid-February, after intense pressure from Centrist parties.
It was Manssur who designed the regulation of the sports betting market in the country and lobbied Congress for the approval of the text that gave rise to the law.
Asked at the time, Haddad denied that there had been pressure from the Centrão and emphasized that it was the former advisor who requested dismissal. "Manssur was here to shape the project of bets, and it was a process very well handled by him." He praised the work of the former aide: "He is a professional of very high quality, but anyway, at his request, he will face other challenges there, but it has nothing to do with this."
The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting is responsible for regulating fixed-odds bets, such as bets, and online games in general.
The agency also has responsibilities to monitor and prevent money laundering, establish responsible gaming policies, prevent compulsive or pathological gambling disorder, and regulate the communication, advertising, and marketing actions of companies operating in this new and growing market.
The Treasury made a point of assuming much of the responsibilities regarding the new market, leaving for the Ministry of Sports only the issue of result integrity. "It is important that this remains there because we do not even have technical competence to do this type of monitoring. So, it is to ensure that there is no manipulation of results. This is an attribution that, in our understanding, belongs to the Ministry of Sports," said Haddad.
The Sports Ministry is now headed by a prominent figure from the Centrão, Federal Deputy André Fufuca, appointed by the PP, the Progressives. Fufuca's arrival, in fact, occurred amid negotiations for the approval of the regulation law of the sector. He replaced former volleyball player Ana Moser, a move seen as an attempt by the government to retain the Centrão in the support base.
Source: Metrópoles
