Lobby for bets mobilizes 78 meetings in 9 ministries – 04/08/2024 – Sports

The debate in the Lula (PT) government on the regulation of online gaming and betting, a sector that includes so-called bets, involved at least 78 meetings in nine ministries.

The law that regulates betting was sanctioned on December 30 by the president, after months of lobbying by companies, law firms and government authorities in discussions in ministries and Congress.

The data comes from Transparent Agenda, a tool from Ficam Sabendo —a non-profit organization specializing in public transparency— used to monitor lobbying in the federal government.

The betting market dominates sponsorship of professional football teams, attracts mainly younger people and raises discussions about addiction and financial losses from betting.

The meetings were held mainly at the Ministry of Finance, with 67 agendas.

Of these meetings, at least 53 involved lawyer José Francisco Manssur, a former Finance advisor who was considered to take over the new Prize and Betting Secretariat, but was fired in February. He even met with two offices where he worked in the past, Ambiel and Pinheiro Neto. When contacted, the former department advisor did not speak out.

Manssur left the government under pressure from the center and the Ministry of Sports to transfer part of the control over the betting houses to the portfolio led by Fufuca (PP-MA).

Sports meetings about betting, however, are still timid. There are only records of three meetings held at the ministry since the beginning of 2023, according to the ministry’s public agendas.

The government also promises to publish a series of ordinances to regulate the sector, but the Betting Secretariat, created at the end of January, remains without a head.

In a statement, Fufuca’s ministry says that the Executive Secretariat, the area that deals with games, betting and sweepstakes, is “undergoing a process of change of command”. This is because lawyer and economist Paulo Vogel left the department last week.

“So, these matters can only be dealt with from the moment the new secretary and his technical team take over the portfolio”, says Sport.

Of the Lula government’s total agendas, 57 were held in 2023 and another 21 took place in the following year. The data from Ficam Sabendo shows meetings held until March 12th.

Members of the betting sector say they were also received by technicians from lower levels in the ministries. In some of these cases, there is no legal requirement to disclose these commitments.

The agendas show three meetings of ministers on betting. Haddad met in March 2023 with representatives from several companies. The mayor of Araraquara (SP), Edinho Silva, attended the meeting.

Simone Tebet (Planning) and Luiz Marinho (Work and Pensions) received senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), who opposes gambling.

The Ministry of Health also promoted at least one meeting to consider the bets. In September 2023, the department discussed “sports betting/pathological gambling disorder” with representatives of the Treasury, according to the official record of the meeting.

The agendas name more than 50 legal entities involved in the betting lobby, such as betting companies, technology platforms, fintechs and law firms. BET365 representatives are the ones who appear most at meetings.

Google, Youtube, Meta (the company that controls Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram), Tik Tok and Kwai went to the Treasury, in separate meetings, to discuss “compliance with advertising rules for fixed odds bets”.

In February this year, Lula criticized online betting games and compared them to casinos and Jogo do Bicho, although he himself sanctioned the law that regulates the sector. “That’s because casino is prohibited here. Because casino is a game of chance, gambling is a game of I don’t know how many. But in electronic gambling, children from 5 years old to 90 years old can now play. There is no limit. The order is to play”, declared Lula.

In addition to meetings at Finance and Sports, the agendas show debates at the ministries of Labor, Justice, Planning, Management, Health, as well as the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) and the Civil House. There is still an agenda at the Post Office.

The Treasury has prioritized meetings with two associations, the ANJL (National Association of Games and Lotteries) and the IBJR (Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming).

In a statement, the ministry led by Fernando Haddad (PT) states that it “has promoted a broad dialogue” on the regulation of fixed-odd betting and says that it does not only welcome associations. “All meeting requests sent to the Prizes and Betting Secretariat are answered and published.”

The Treasury also says that it will publish a regulatory agenda on betting, “containing a list of the main ordinances that will regulate the matter”.

“Such as the company authorization process, payment methods, technical requirements of betting systems, responsible gaming measures, among other important points of current legislation, in order to establish a balanced, safe and effective regulatory system” , says the Treasury.