Brazil: Minister of Sports announces creation of Gambling Secretariat by July

Brazil's Minister of Sports, André Fufuca (PP), announced that, as of this month, the Sports Betting Secretariat will be created within the structure of his ministry. The statement was made during an interview on the program Bom Dia, Minister.

"We will have the Sports Betting Secretariat. It is a secretariat that is being reorganized by the Civil House. Among the actions and attributions of this secretariat, we will have the issue of sports integrity. Integrity that, in addition to monitoring the entire sports landscape, [will] also monitor betting," the official said.  

Below is the minister's speech on the new secretariat (starting at 5 minutes and 49 seconds):

It is worth mentioning that the Prizes and Gambling Secretariat (SPA), headed by Regis Dudena, already exists within the Ministry of Finance. 

However, the new department within the Ministry of Sports will have a different focus, according to Fufuca. "It does not make sense for us to create a secretariat that will work on the issue of betting revenues and that does not have the integrity and transparency needed at this time," he said.

"The creation of the betting secretariat has been months in the making. It's not a project we're taking off the drawing board today. It has come a long way. It is not a utopia, it is a project built by several hands," he added.

The news comes amid a scenario in which match-fixing in soccer has become a frequent topic in the press. Recently, for example, the Federal Police (PF) launched Operation Jogo Limpo to investigate possible manipulations in a match of the D Series of the Brazilian Championship.

The PF press release does not say which match is under suspicion, but Globo Esporte has learned that it concerns the match between Inter of Limeira and Patrocinense, which took place on June 1.

The match in question, played in Limeira (SP), was won by Inter 3-0. The suspicions arose from a report by the company Sportradar, which identified unusual movements at bookmakers, indicating that certain bettors had prior knowledge that Patrocinense would come out of the first half losing by at least two goals.

In addition, the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting continues to discuss the issue of integrity in the Senate and will hear the former advisor to the Ministry of Finance, José Francisco Manssur, next Tuesday, July 2.

"We have discussed a lot with the National Congress on this issue and have even suggested bills aimed at curbing both the sportsman who commits this criminal act and any type of external perpetrator who encourages the practice," Fufuca concluded.