Brazilian Chamber of Deputies debates the transfer of betting funds to athletes following a complaint from FENAPF (National Federation of Professional Football Players) regarding lack of payments.
The Chamber of Deputies will hold a public hearing to discuss financial transfers from sports betting companies to Brazilian athletes. Deputy Caio Vianna (PSD-RJ), president of the subcommittee responsible for the regulation of bets, filed the request for the debate on Monday (8). The legislation that regulated the sector, sanctioned in 2023, provides for compensation for the use of athletes' names and images, but so far no payment has been made.
The request (REQ 125/2025 CESPO) from deputy Caio Vianna, which asks for a Public Hearing, within the scope of the Permanent Subcommittee on Sports Betting Regulation, to debate the payment due to athletes for the use of their names, sports nicknames and images in sports betting, will be voted on this Wednesday (10), at 13 pm.
The meeting will take place in Brasília in the coming days and will seek to resolve the impasse regarding the payments that should be made monthly. The law establishes that a portion of the gross revenue generated by fixed-odds betting must be allocated to athletes, clubs, confederations, and sports leagues as compensation for the use of their names, sports nicknames, and images.
Representative Caio Vianna requested that the following be invited:
⇒ Giovani Rocco Neto, National Secretary of Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sport at the Ministry of Sport (SNAEDE);
⇒ Representative of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL);
⇒ Representative of the National Federation of Professional Football Players (FENAPAF);
⇒ Representative of the Athletes' Commission of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (CACOB);
Representative of the Athletes' Council of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee;
Representative of the Athletes' Commission of the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB);
Representative of the Athletes' Commission of the Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT).
The National Federation of Professional Football Players (FENAPF) has already denounced that professional players are not receiving the amounts stipulated by law for the use of their image in electronic betting houses. The complaint was presented during a public hearing held on Thursday (4) in the Chamber of Deputies, in Brasília.
The lack of implementation of this rule motivated the parliamentary initiative. The mechanism for monthly payments, although clearly defined in the legislation, has never been operationalized in practice, directly affecting athletes from various sports in Brazil.
“Without athletes, there is no betting. We need to ensure that they receive the share that the law already guarantees them,” declared Congressman Caio Vianna. On another occasion, the congressman reinforced: “The athletes are without any kind of payment; they are obviously the main agents in this sector. Without athletes, there is no betting. So we need the athletes to receive their share, which they are not receiving to this day.”
The president of FENAPF, former player Jorge Bossato, spoke about the problem during an event at the National Congress. As recorded by TV Câmara, he proposed that the organization act as an intermediary to guarantee the transfer of the amounts owed to the professionals. “FENAPF is making itself available to receive, according to the law, the athletes' share, as they are not receiving their quota from the bets, and this is only fair, because the athletes are the workers on the field who generate this entire system,” declared Bossato.
The hearing is expected to include representatives from the Ministry of Sport, the National Association of Games and Lotteries, as well as members of athletes' commissions from different sports, including football, basketball and tennis, and the Olympic and Paralympic governing bodies.
The debate aims to clarify the reasons why the rule has not yet been implemented and to establish a timetable for the start of payments to athletes. There is no information on what the next steps would be after the public hearing or how the payment mechanism would be implemented if there is consensus among the parties involved.
Professional football was the first sport to be explored by online betting sites in the Brazilian market, becoming the main modality used by "bets" in the country. During a previous hearing, the online sports betting market in Brazil was described as a "billion-dollar business," although no specific figures were presented regarding the size of this market nor details about which companies were allegedly violating the law.
