Brazilian Parliamentary Inquiry Concludes Investigation into Match-Fixing, Proposes New Laws
A Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) investigating match-fixing in Brazilian football is set to conclude this week, having identified a pattern of criminal activity. The CPI’s sponsor, Romário, has proposed three bills aimed at cracking down on sports manipulation.
The CPI on match-fixing was initially established in April 2024 to investigate allegations of manipulation in Brazilian sports, following a high-profile case involving Botafogo’s owner, John Textor. Textor claimed to possess evidence that São Paulo players had been bribed in a top-tier Brazilian football match.
The CPI’s work will conclude this Wednesday with a vote on Romário’s final report, which calls for several indictments and proposes three new legislative measures.
Romário stated that he has identified a pattern of criminal activity within Brazilian football. According to him, players with low salaries are being enticed with promises of lucrative contracts with foreign clubs to manipulate matches. Club directors facing financial difficulties are also reportedly targeted.
Romário’s report will be submitted to sports integrity bodies linked to betting. He advocates for international cooperation, as match-fixing has a “transnational” character.
“The current scenario in Brazilian football is delicate and concerning, where the integrity of the world’s most popular sport is being called into question,” said Romário. “An effort is needed to reverse the damage.”
All CPI documents will be forwarded to the Federal Police and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation.
Three Bills to Combat Match-Fixing
Romário’s report proposes three new bills to discourage match-fixing in Brazilian sports.
One bill proposes increasing the penalty for those who defraud the results of sporting events. The proposal raises the maximum penalty to 10 years in prison, in addition to a fine. Currently, the penalty ranges from two to six years.
The bill defines “fraud in the betting market” as a new crime. The criminal classification would include athletes who use privileged information to gain an advantage in betting. It would also criminalize the dissemination or promotion of unreal gains from betting.
Another bill proposes mandatory warnings to bettors, discouraging gambling and alerting them to its harmful effects.
Restricting Specific Bets (Prop Bets) to Reduce Manipulation
The third bill proposes restricting “prop bets” – such as those on yellow cards – as, according to the report, almost all recent match-fixing scandals in Brazil involve this type of bet on isolated events.
Romário noted that “prop bets” facilitate manipulation because they have little direct impact on the outcome of the match.
“The sports legal system also needs to adapt to this new reality and improve its mechanisms to combat manipulation,” explained Romário.
In addition to the three bills, the report also proposes an amendment to the Constitution, which would make the presence of any citizen summoned by a CPI mandatory, with the possibility of coercive conduct.
The proposal arose after a decision by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that exempted influencer Deolane Bezerra, involved in “Operation Integration” on illegal games, from testifying before the CPI, despite the request.
Romário Requests Three Indictments
Romário’s report also requested the indictment of three people for match-fixing. Bruno Tolentino was cited for involvement in a match-fixing case that occurred in 2024.
Tolentino is the uncle of Brazilian national team player Lucas Paquetá, who currently plays for West Ham United in the English Premier League and is involved in a three-week hearing with the Football Association (FA), which seeks to ban him from football for life for violating betting rules.
Paquetá was charged in May 2024 with manipulating events in four Premier League matches.
In addition, Romário requested the indictment of businessmen William Pereira Rogatto and Thiago Chambó Andrade for other cases of manipulation.
However, the CPI will not indict businessman Bruno Lopez, despite his admission of involvement in manipulation, as he has reached an agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Romário also made several recommendations, including the Ministry of Finance acting as a regulator of betting advertising and the creation of a self-exclusion program for compulsive gamblers.
Criticisms of the CPI on Match-Fixing in Brazil
Senator Eduardo Girão, known for his opposition to betting in Brazil, described Romário’s report as “brilliant.”
However, Girão pointed out “omissions on crucial issues” in the CPI’s final report, such as the absence of mention of a report by a news magazine. The publication stated that Congressman Felipe Carreras had requested R$ 35 million from the then-president of ANJL, Wesley Cardia, to protect betting operators in the National Congress.
“The embarrassing silence on this aspect needs to be re-evaluated,” said Girão. “It is not appropriate to fail to explore all investigative possibilities.”
In Girão’s view, the report also does not adequately address the appointment of Geovanni Rocco as national secretary of betting for the Ministry of Finance. He argues that Rocco’s pro-betting stance represents a conflict of interest in the role.
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