SPORTS BETTING
Brazil – Ministries in tug of war over sports betting
By James - 21 September 2023
The new Minister of Sports, André Fufuca, argued that the new Secretariat of Prizes and Gambling (SNPA), created to manage the sports betting sector, should remain under the orbit of his portfolio as well as that belonging to the Ministry of Finance.
“We will define with Minister Haddad what the powers of both will be. What will be the relevance for us and what it will be for the Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, “ he said.
The bill approved in the House of Deputies established that the SNPA would be created under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance, despite the Progressista’s (Progressives party) insistence on assigning it to the Ministry of Sports.
In dialogue with the Broadcast Político, Fufuca stated that he would meet this week with the Ministry of Finance, to seek to widen the debate, anticipating that a distribution between both portfolios would be the most convenient.
“It is a large, important secretariat, it has collection, supervision, regulation and we have to have a mature debate with the Treasury to find a way. Dividing it is the best way, very calmly, without confusion or anything,” he said.
Likewise, he indicated that he will seek to increase the percentage of income that will be allocated to his ministry which currently stands at 4 per cent.
“The division was correct in terms of the areas that will benefit, but I think that sports could be expanded a little more. I am not saying that it is small, but it could be larger,” he said.
In a cabinet reshuffle President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva named federal lawmaker Andre Fufuca as the sports minister (replacing Ana Moser), while lawmaker Silvio Costa Filho was named as the ports and airports minister. Both belong to the Centrão a bloc of conservative parties that has dominated Brazilian politics for decades. The two ministers were once allied with Lula’s political rival and predecessor Jair Bolsonaro who governed from 2019 to 2022.
