President of Caixa cites bets and predicts R$ 1.5 billion with the return of the scratch card

The president of Caixa Econômica Federal, economist Carlos Vieira, cited the role of “bets” in the advertising market with football teams as a determining factor in Caixa’s decision to review sponsorship of men’s teams.

Vieira also spoke about the return of the scratch card and projected a revenue of R$1.5 billion for 2024. Vieira took charge of the bank in November 2023.

Despite having the nomination for command of the bank associated with Centrão, Vieira avoided getting into political issues and said that President Lula (PT) is responsible for his appointment.

The statements were made during an interview given to Power360 and published this Thursday (21).

Asked about the possible return of the bank’s sponsorship of men’s football teams, Vieira said that Caixa is studying the possibility, however, there is currently no way to compete with “bets”, as online betting houses are called. .

“There is a very different context than in the past. At that time, we didn’t have competition from betting. Of the 20 clubs in the 1st division [do Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol], 18 are sponsored by this segment. Caixa prefers to allocate its resources to other sports that do not receive as much support, but it is not ruled out that we look at one situation or another in football, in the 1st division”, said Vieira, recalling that, recently, Caixa signed an agreement with the Brazilian Football Confederation. Women’s Basketball and that there is an agreement between the Lotteries and Paralympic sport.

In another section, asked about the return of the scratch card, as the sale of the instant lottery is known, Vieira said that he already has authorization from the Ministry of Finance and that Caixa has “exclusive exploration for 24 months”.

“We are finalizing the entire process of organizing the Caixa Lotteries […] The scratch card is ready for sale, it is systematized. In around 30, 40 days we put it on the market. In the month of May, this is more likely […] The estimated revenue for 2024 is R$1.5 billion. I think it will be a success,” he said.