The Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) gave the green light this Tuesday (7) to a bill that redefines the distribution of resources from the Timemania lottery.
Bill 3,723/2021, authored by senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), was approved and now goes to the Chamber of Deputies for evaluation, unless a vote is requested in the Plenary.
The project received support from senator Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos-AL), rapporteur of the matter, who accepted an amendment during the analysis. Cunha highlighted the importance of safety for teams participating in Timemania and potential entrants.
Changes to Timemania
The proposal in question modifies the Timemania Law (Law 11,345, of 2006) and the Lottery Law (Law 13,756, of 2018). Initially, the text provided that all resources allocated to clubs would be distributed according to the number of nominations made by bettors for their favorite teams.
However, an amendment by senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), accepted by the rapporteur, proposes to resume a previous model established by Decree 10,941, of 2022. This model divides half of the resources equally between all clubs and the other half in proportion to the nominations of bettors.
This change aims to avoid the concentration of resources in clubs with the largest number of fans, such as Flamengo, Corinthians and Palmeiras.
Vieira explained that if the current rule were changed to a purely proportional distribution to the “favorite team“, the main clubs would significantly increase their revenues, while smaller clubs would lose resources.
Furthermore, the project foresees the reopening of the deadline for club membership every two years by Caixa Econômica Federal, allowing new teams to participate in the competition.
Rodrigo Cunha highlights that the project does not entail additional costs for the State nor does it imply regulatory costs.
Football clubs benefited
The Timemania Law aims to financially assist football clubs, offering conditions for paying their tax and labor debts in installments.
The lottery contest uses the clubs’ brands, passing on 22% of the total collected from the draws. Bettors can indicate their favorite club on the betting slips.
In 2022, the organization divided the clubs into two groups. The first group includes teams from Series A, B and C of the Brazilian Championship and the best classified in the CBF ranking, totaling 80 teams. The second group contains professional teams that participated in Timemania until 2021, but are not part of the first group.
Currently, the organization distributes resources in a specific way. She equally divides around 11% of the total raised in each draw. This division occurs between all teams in the two groups.
On the other hand, the organization distributes another 11% differently. She distributes these resources among the teams in the first group. However, this distribution is based on bets indicated as “Heart Team”. This is the model consolidated by the bill, with the amendment accepted by the rapporteur.
Rodrigo Cunha highlights a solution proposed by Alessandro Vieira. This solution aims to consolidate a more equitable distribution criterion. The idea is to balance the allocation of resources between clubs. This would ensure equal distribution for everyone. Furthermore, a part would be proportional to the bettors’ indications.
