Brazil's Ministry of Finance inks agreement with Sportradar and IBIA to strengthen sports betting integrity

The Brazilian Ministry of Finance signed agreements with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and Sportradar to strengthen sports betting integrity throughout the country.

The agreements were formalized through the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting, and come as Brazil aims to strengthen its integrity efforts ahead of its regulated market launch, slated for January 2024. 

Most recently, the IBIA published a report titled 'The Availability of Sports Betting Products: An Economic and Integrity Analysis', which forecasts that Brazil’s new sports betting regulations could yield $34 billion in betting turnover by 2028. 

Sportradar signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) with the Ministry of Finance, designed to support the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting’s technical team, responsible for overseeing the national authorization, inspection, and sanctioning of online gaming and sports betting operators.

Sportradar’s Integrity Services will share its expertise with the Secretariat by reporting any suspicious activity detected during its market monitoring and offering strategic advice for addressing such incidents. 

Furthermore, Sportradar will assist in educating and training Secretariat staff on match-fixing risks, enhancing their knowledge of this pressing issue. This proves particularly relevant as two Brazilian international football players are currently under investigation for spot-fixing on domestic matches.

Régis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Finance, stated: "The partnership with Sportradar will be an important tool to combat a major threat to the fixed-odds betting market, which is the risk of manipulation of sports results."

Felippe Marchetti, Sportradar’s Manager for Integrity Partnerships in Brazil, said: "The signing of the ACT is a proud occasion for Sportradar and we appreciate the trust shown by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance in the expertise of Sportradar’s Integrity Services division. This ACT reflects a mutual commitment to establish a sustainable, regulated sports betting industry in Brazil built upon a foundation of integrity."

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Ministry of Finance's sports betting integrity cooperation agreement with the IBIA enables both parties to share information on suspicious betting activity related to Brazilian sports and to work together on related investigations. 

As per Brazil's new regulatory framework, operators applying for a license must become members of an independent sports integrity monitoring organization. 

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, commented: "IBIA is delighted to have reached this agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Finance and welcomes the government’s increased focus on creating a robust sports betting integrity ecosystem to tackle match-fixing.

"Collaboration and information sharing are key to the success of this ecosystem. Under this agreement, IBIA will identify and report suspicious betting on Brazilian sporting events to the Ministry of Finance to support investigatory actions. That will include detailed customer account data that is only available to IBIA and its members."

Khalid Ali

For his part, Dudena commented: "Cooperation with IBIA will add to SPA’s work in combating the manipulation of sporting events. And together we will mitigate this problem on a global scale.” 

It should be noted that Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier this month demanded a federal gambling policy to protect Bolsa Família beneficiaries from addiction and financial strain. The Brazilian government needs to establish a federal policy on gambling addiction to protect citizens and eliminate social harms, he said, such as public debt, if it is to ensure and securely promote responsible gambling.