Brazil: Disputes over sports ministry grow in view of the Provisional Measure's betting revenue projection

Following the signing of the Provisional Measure (MP) that modifies Law 13.756, of 2018, and regulates sports betting in the country, the Brazilian government seeks to restructure the ministries in order to adapt to the regulation. According to the text of the MP, 3% of the proceeds will go to the Ministry of Sports, generating a much more robust budget in the sector. 

This means that the portfolio currently headed by former volleyball player Ana Moser should receive, in 2024, an extra BRL 60 million (about $12 million) from gambling revenue, with an estimate that in future years it could reach BRL 360 million (about $73.5 million). It should be noted that the ministry's initial budget for this year is BRL 200 million ($40.8 million), which makes clear the importance of the contribution that gambling would imply. 

This revenue sharing implied by Provisional Measure 1.182/2023 increases the dispute of the Centrão parties (conservative parties) for the Ministry of Sports, as well as the pressures of the central government, politically committed to a reform in the Esplanada dos Ministérios.

The budget projection increases the negotiation of the parties for the Sports portfolio, demanded by Centrão to guarantee "tranquility" in the official votes in the National Congress.

Centrão is a bloc of parties that exerts significant influence in Brazil's conservative Congress and is currently in negotiations with the Brazilian government in order to take over some important portfolios. While initially targeting the Ministry of Social Development, now they seem to have turned their attention to Sports, considering the revenue that can be generated by the regulation of sports betting.