At the fourth plenary meeting of the Permanent Subcommittee on Sports Betting Regulation in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the issue of payment for the image rights of professional football players was once again the focus. The meeting was held in the form of an interactive public hearing, aimed at assessing the revenue from fixed-odds betting and its financial flow towards sports development.
The National Union of Professional Football Players of Brazil (Fenapaf) reported that players have not yet received the image rights compensation stipulated by the electronic betting regulatory law. Player representative Jorge Borçato emphasized that these funds are a legal obligation: "Fenapaf is willing to collect the share due to the athletes. Players are the core of the entire betting system, but they have still not received their due earnings."
Another representative, Caio Vianna, added: "Athletes are the main participants, yet they receive no support. Without them, there would be no betting activities. Therefore, their image rights payments must be made promptly." The subcommittee stated that this will be the focus of the next phase of work.
The National Secretary of Sports Betting and Economic Development at the Brazilian Ministry of Sports, Giovanni Rocco, pointed out that due to regulatory deficiencies, betting companies currently absorb all the funds originally allocated for football. He suggested the establishment of a Permanent Transparency Committee between the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the distribution and use of betting revenues are regulated.
Rocco emphasized that transparent and compliant financial regulation is crucial for maintaining public sports policies and protecting athletes' rights, and called for societal attention to the fair distribution of these resources.
