CBF sends lawyer to Brazil Supreme Court hearing on betting ban

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) will send a lawyer to a public hearing at the Supreme Court (STF) on the ban on betting in Brazil, rather than its president, Samir Xaud, according to a press report. The hearing, called by STF Justice Luiz Fux, is scheduled for Monday 3 November at 10am at the court.

Fux, the rapporteur of the case seeking suspension of the provisional measure (MP) that banned betting houses from operating in the country, called the clubs that filed actions in support of the sector: Flamengo, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, Corinthians and São Paulo. Palmeiras is also expected to attend. The prosecutor-general, associations linked to the betting sector, trade and industry, the Ministry of Finance and the CBF were also summoned. The unconstitutionality actions were filed by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Responsible Gaming Institute (IBJR).

At the hearing, the clubs will press for a longer transition period for implementing the end of betting if the MP is not revoked, according to the report. The clubs' assessment is that the measure had an electoral character and that, with Lula's re-election, the government would have more to gain from the resumption of sports betting in Brazilian football.

Xaud's absence was already expected by the football clubs, which see the CBF as influenced by figures linked to power in Brasília, the report said. Xaud had personally opposed a meeting with the Ministry of Sports to discuss solutions on the matter before the presidential election and maintained alignment with Flávio Bolsonaro. With Lula's victory, the CBF president became persona non grata in the federal government, according to the report.

Last year, Samir Xaud was the target of a Federal Police operation investigating an alleged vote-buying scheme in Roraima, the report said. The courts suspended the investigation. The CBF president took an active part in the campaign of relatives in the last election and plans to return to the state to resume his political career, according to the report.