The effectiveness of blocking illegal sports betting sites will be in focus at a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the Manipulation of Gaming and Sports Betting. The meeting takes place this Tuesday (03), at 2:30 pm.
During the session, Gesilea Fonseca Teles, superintendent of inspection at the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), will give testimony.
The main objective of the hearing is to clarify the agency’s strategies to combat the operation of irregular betting houses.
The request to hear Teles was made by the commission’s rapporteur, senator Romário (PL-RJ), who highlighted the technical challenges faced in blocking these platforms.
Impact of Ordinance 1,475/2024 on sports betting
Ordinance 1,475/2024, published by the Ministry of Treasury, reinforced the need for control over sports betting. Since October 1, 2024, the exploitation of the lottery modality of fixed-odd betting by companies without authorization from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has been prohibited.
Despite this, Romário warns of the technical difficulties in effectively blocking these sites. “Among other issues, there is the use of virtual private networks (VPN) to bypass blocks. This committee wants to hear from Anatel how the agency plans to ensure the effectiveness of the legislation and protect consumers”, stated the senator.
In addition to technical issues, the CPI meeting will address the profile of Brazilian bettors. Renato de Oliveira Meirelles, president of Instituto Locomotiva, will present the results of a qualitative research on the behavior of sports betting consumers.
The study revealed that, in the last six months, around 25 million Brazilians started betting. According to Romário, “45% of Brazilians who place sports bets online have already suffered financial losses. Furthermore, 37% said they used money intended for more important needs to bet.”
Football fraud investigations
The meeting will also include voting on requests, such as the one requesting the summons of businessman Ede Vicente Ferreira Junior. He is being investigated by Operation VAR, which investigates fraud in football, including manipulation of results in the Campeonato Carioca.
But these irregularities, for the most part, originate from bets made in Asia and involve Series B matches of the championship.
In short, the CPI’s work seeks not only to combat illegal betting, but also to ensure that the sector operates in an ethical and transparent manner.
