This year, Jogo do Bicho is completing 130 years. The game was created in 1892 and without proper regulation has been enriching bookies and even militiamen, mainly in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Created as an attraction for visitors to the zoo in the north of the city, the Jogo do Bicho spread and became an extremely strong betting modality and culture in the streets, squares and cafes.
Historian Milton Teixeira says that as soon as the game began to become popular, it was already considered a controversial topic: “In the early years of the Republic, you know, betting became a misdemeanor because the Republic had that idea that the worker should just earn money for your work and not for games of chance”.
It was in 1941 that the official prohibition of gambling arrived in Brazil, but despite that, Jogo do Bicho continued to be played illegally and without supervision, even generating disputes in a parallel sphere of power.
Sociologist and specialist in public safety, Carol Grillo, commented on the existence of disputes over sales territories: “They end up using violent settling of accounts, or violent disputes, this contributes to the increase in the homicide rate”.
In a historic judgment in 1993, Judge Denise Frossard sentenced 14 famous bookies to prison, but they were released after appeals and court maneuvers. Since then, the dispute over the assets of Jogo do Bicho has resulted in a scenario of deaths and arrests.
It is even possible to say that public agents and militiamen are part of a web of corruption with the game. However, there is no way to know exactly how much this group moves per month or per year.
To get an idea, the latest investigation by the Civil Police points out that only the current head of contravention in Rio, Bernardo Bello, would have 10,000 Jogo do Bicho points in the central region and south zone of Rio and a profit of R$ 200,000 per day with 10 slot machines.
The last prisoner related to the controversial Jogo do Bicho was Capitão Guimarães, accused of murder and for his relationship with the game. According to the Federal Police, he is part of the gang that would have killed Fábio Aguiar Sardinha, in July 2020.
