Conglomerates behind Rede Globo and SBT have requested permission from the Ministry of Finance to enter the Brazilian betting market. The regulation created by the government for the sector, however, prohibits bets from acquiring, licensing, or financing broadcasting and reproduction rights of sports events. Grupo Globo says it holds a minority stake in the site, which avoids conflict with the law, and Grupo Silvio Santos states that the platform will comply with the rules.
Despite the restriction in the regulation, which also covers "controlled and controlling companies", through agreements with multinationals, Globo and SBT have applied for a license from the Ministry within the deadline of August 20. Professionals with executive positions in the media companies have been placed at the head of the betting sites.
Holder of the broadcast rights for the Brazilian Championship, among other sports competitions, Grupo Globo has partnered with LeoVegas, a subsidiary of MGM casinos based in Sweden, using the CNPJs of the Cartola site and Globo Ventures.
Patrícia Abravanel, heir to SBT and presenter of the station, will lead the own brand TQJ (Todos Querem Jogar), in partnership with the British OpenBet. Today, the channel founded by Silvio Santos broadcasts matches from the Libertadores and the Champions League.
Grupo Globo states that it is not the controller of the joint venture with MGM (BetMGM). "We have a minority participation and, therefore, there is no conflict with the cited legislation".
Article 18 of law 14.790 prohibits the purchase of broadcasting and reproduction rights of sports events to betting operators, as well as to their controlled and controlling companies, a company that holds the majority of votes in the administrative council. The betting operator is the CNPJ licensed by the Treasury.
According to lawyer specialized in betting sites Luiz Felipe Maia, this provision was created in response to the concern expressed by television stations with the entry of bets in the competition for the exhibition of football championships.
"This would tend to make these rights more expensive. This restriction was actually to protect media companies", he says. The legislation, however, opens the possibility for media conglomerates to enter the business as minority shareholders. "It's a jabuticaba", according to Maia.
Before the government sent the then bill that regulated bets to Congress in July 2023, the director of institutional relations of TV Globo, Fernando Vieira de Mello Filho, had a meeting with José Francisco Manssur, former special advisor to the Treasury responsible for the theme.
In the rest of the world, there is no such gradation. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, which maintain large betting markets, allow media companies to control bets, imposing restrictions only on advertising. France and Germany, on the other hand, have rigid devices to avoid conflicts of interest between broadcasting and betting stands, according to lawyer Rubio Teixeira, founder of the betting regularization company Octus Gaming.
Both lawyers assess that Grupo Globo, which has already declared itself a minority in BetMGM, will not have difficulties in receiving the license from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).
In the business registration, the media conglomerate invested R$ 54.2 million. Therefore, it holds 49.97% of the company, registered with a capital stock of R$ 108.45 million. The current director of Cartola, Alessandra Catran Lewit, will be in charge of BetMGM.
Also listed among the ranks of the new business are the partners of Globo Ventures Juliana de Araújo Wanderley Labronici, as administrative advisor, and Pedro Menescal and Gustavo Souza de Lacerda, as directors.
The president of MGM Resorts, Bill Hornbuckle, cited as administrative advisor of BetMGM, said that there is no other company in the market that knows the Brazilian public so well.
"This historic alliance allows us to quickly enter the market with the scale and expertise necessary to establish a starting position as one of the main operators and providers of the best experience for customers throughout Brazil", stated the American executive during the announcement of the agreement, last month.
Asked about possible conflicts of interest between the sale of advertising by Globo's outlets and the demand for advertising from the new betting house, the media conglomerate stated that it will continue to follow its code of ethics.
"We have a permanent commitment to the social function of the company, with compliance with the legislation and with the editorial independence of our channels and platforms, as can be proven, for example, by the decades of sports events broadcasts without this interfering in the coverage of our journalism".
Brazilians today already have access to the LeoVegas brand, from the MGM group, where online slot machines, such as the little tiger game, and sports betting stands are hosted.
In a note sent to Folha, Grupo Silvio Santos states that it has a solid commitment to transparency and compliance with Brazilian regulatory standards in all sectors in which it operates.
The company did not specify what its participation in TQJ is, which had R$ 40 million in fully paid-up capital on August 21. On the same date, the vice-president of OpenBet for Latin America and Canada, Marc Thomas Crean, and presenter Patrícia Abravanel joined the administrative council of the company, also formed by Marcelo Barp, the financial director of Grupo Silvio Santos.
In the corporate structure of the company are the president of Grupo Silvio Santos, José Roberto Maciel, the president of Jequiti, Eduardo Ribeiro, and the financial director of the cosmetics company, Luiz Cardoso.
The Grupo Silvio Santos also invited the former director of Bradesco Alan Marinovic, to be financial director, and the former president of Loterias Caixa Waldir Eustáquio Marques, for the directorate of relationship with the Minister of Finance.
Sought, the department headed by Fernando Haddad states that the process of evaluating the license applications, currently underway, will take into account all restrictions and legal requirements, as well as the conditions imposed by the infralegal regulation.
In the licensing process, operators must present the entire chain of partners and shareholders of the business up to the final beneficiary. The ordinance specifies that companies in the sector will have to be associated with the Brazilian National Council for Self-Regulation in Advertising (Conar).
"Only companies that meet all the requirements and requisites will be authorized". The department says it will not comment on specific cases.
People from the leadership of Grupo Globo and Grupo Silvio Santos being in the direction of the betting sites, as observed in both cases, would not imply a restriction by the current legislation, says the lawyer specialized in sports law of CCLA Lawyers, Raphael Paçó Barbieri.
For the vice-president of the Brazilian Institute of Regulatory Law, Thiago Valiati, this example shows how businesses will use corporate law to their advantage to fit the rules. "It is essential to have detailed knowledge of how these bets will be designed and structured, who will effectively integrate the corporate structure, in order not to violate the provisions of the law".
In the assessment of Rubio Teixeira, from Octus, a company with the right to broadcast and reproduce sports events would have an advantage due to the reach of the advertising actions of the media channels.
Source: Folha
