"Let's regulate, do the right thing", says Haddad on sports betting regulation

On Wednesday, the 17th, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, communicated to the deputies the need to start a debate on the sports betting regulation. He emphasized, however, that the government has no intention of imposing taxes on the games.

The minister participated in a joint session of committees in the Chamber of Deputies, where he spoke about sports betting: “In the case of sports betting bets, how can anyone disagree? They are sites abroad, making money doing what they do, there is cheating – and I’m not talking about something specific, but we know that there is this, even denounced by the Federal Police”.

“How can you not regulate this and leave the popular economy unassisted? Let’s regulate, do the right thing,” said Haddad.

Football manipulation cases should accelerate sports betting regulation

In addition to the General Sports Law project, another subject related to sports competitions has been highlighted in the Senate in recent days: the regulation of sports betting. This theme has gained relevance due to the advances of the Maximum Penalty Operation, conducted by the Public Ministry of Goiás, which investigates a scheme of match-fixing through betting.

Despite not having a specific project on the subject on the agenda, parliamentarians took advantage of the space in the House Plenary to criticize the interference of betting on football and emphasize the importance of regulating the sector. Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) was responsible for initiating the debate during the vote on the General Sports Law project (PL 1,825/2022), on May 11.

“You rarely see a Brazilian who doesn’t support a certain team. But if we don’t take a position, the government doesn’t take a position, the National Congress doesn’t take a position on these sports bets that are taking place there, football will end, because they are buying players and will continue to buy football players. This turned into a general mess”, said Aziz.