In the request submitted to the CPI, Romário (PL-RJ) describes Sportradar, based in Switzerland, as a world leader in data collection and analysis systems for detecting fraud in sports betting.
According to Romário, the invitation is relevant for the company to clarify how its technology works, how football matches in Brazil are monitored, and how information is made available to its clients.
His request states that Sportradar has contracts with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the International Federation of Football (FIFA) to monitor various football championships in Brazil. The company also has several sports betting houses among its clients.
Romário recalls that, according to a report released last March by Sportradar, Brazil was the world champion in fraud, with 109 suspicious matches out of a total of 9,000 analyzed matches.
The CPI will also hear next Tuesday from Thiago Horta Barbosa, Head of Integrity for Latin America at Genius Sports. Romário argues that Barbosa can bring to the CPI an assessment of the main vulnerabilities identified in other countries, which could help improve the fight against match-fixing in Brazil.
According to this request, Genius Sports, based in England, develops its own technology for detecting fraud in sports matches. The document states that the company has contracts with various sports federations in Brazil and Latin America. In Europe, it has signed an agreement with the Premier League, the English football league, among others.
Request for confrontation denied
After allegations of match-fixing made by John Textor, controller of SAF Botafogo, the executive submitted a request to the CPI, where he had already testified, for a confrontation between professionals from Sportradar and Good Game!, a company that was hired by him to monitor Botafogo's matches.
The president of the CPI, Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), refused to comply with the request, stating that a possible confrontation should be voted on by the Commission.
"The presence of experts from Good Game! on the same date as the Sportradar summons will provide senators with the opportunity to request clarifications, as they deem necessary, on the methodology adopted by the experts in the preparation of the reports, as well as the possible confrontation of the professionals heard, to compare the methodologies used by both companies," says Textor's request.
"Both the people to be heard and the documents to be requested are not the sole expression of this presidency's will, but rather of the majority of the members that make up the collegiate body. Furthermore, the authorship of these requests is restricted to these senators, and it is not procedural for their presentation by non-member senators or other interested parties, even by collaborators. Therefore, the submitted request, due to its content, should be considered as suggestions to the collegiate body," he pointed out.
Request to hear Régis Dudena
The CPI will also vote on Tuesday on Senator Carlos Portinho's (PL-RJ) request to hear the Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance, Régis Dudena, and the President of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association (Abraesp), Rodrigo Alves.
His request also includes hearing executives from financial system companies, the Central Bank, and the CEO of Pay4Fun, Leonardo Baptista.
"It is essential for this Parliamentary Inquiry Commission to understand the details of the mechanisms used by betting operators for their payment transactions," he justifies in the request.
Source: GMB
