Brazil betting CPI ‘circus’ looks doomed
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre has reportedly decided against extending the deadline for the betting CPI, believing the committee has already had sufficient time to compile a report. It has investigated the Brazilian gambling market for over seven months.
Last November, the CPI on betting was established with the objective of investigating the “growing influence of online virtual gambling games on [Brazilian families’ financial spending]”.
The CPI has since probed some of the key issues of the gambling sector in Brazil, including illegal betting, influencer advertising and retrospective grey market taxes prior to the legal offering launching on 1 January.
The CPI was initially set to end on 30 April, although the deadline was extended to 14 June.
That deadline isn’t expected to be extended further, however, with Senator Jorge Kajuru revealing Alcolumbre is frustrated with the lack of progress made by the CPI.
In quotes shared by local news site O Antagonista, Kajuru said: “President Davi slammed his hand on the table.
“That was the only time he got angry and said ‘I do not accept the extension, that’s it, it’s over and I will claim that you did not work, that you did not hold more sessions and did not call the people you should have called and you want to continue with this situation, which is sometimes even a circus.’”
Has the betting CPI been a success?
The betting CPI has covered a number of the key issues, and its report at the conclusion of its work could yet play a key role in quelling some of the concerns surrounding the gambling sector.
But the CPI also hasn’t been without its controversy, with Brazilian magazine Veja making allegations of extortion within the committee in December. This prompted the CPI’s rapporteur Senator Soraya Thronicke to lash out at the “gossip”, which she believed was an attempt to distract from the CPI’s work.
Senator Cleitinho Azevedo also caused a stir last week, when he asked for a photo with influencer Virgínia Fonseca while she gave testimony to the CPI about promoting betting sites on social media.
Thronicke subsequently criticised Cleitinho for his actions, while claiming she didn’t believe the answers Fonseca gave in her CPI appearance, also hitting out at the influencer’s attitude.