The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) admits a R$ 130 million shortfall due to the end of betting operations and rushes to the market to cover the loss.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) estimates that the ban on fixed-odds betting will cut R$ 130 million from its 2027 budget. This figure was presented by the organization's president, Marco La Porta, in an interview published this Saturday (November 14th) by Correio Braziliense, on the CB.Esportes podcast.
According to La Porta, the loss comes less than two years before the Olympic Games. It forces the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) to work to replace these resources and reprioritize projects. For the official, the organization is returning to 2024, when it did not have this money.
The number confirms what La Porta had already said at COB Expo, as reported by BNLData. At the time, he stated that the organization raised approximately R$ 200 million between 2025 and September 2026 from betting revenue. COB expected an additional R$ 25 million by the end of 2026 and between R$ 125 million and R$ 130 million in 2027. With a total budget of R$ 600 million, it will lose about 20% of its projected revenue. On the same occasion, he summarized: "That's R$ 125 million less two years before the Olympic Games."
From the hole to the showcase.
The tone of the interview is one of pragmatic resignation. "We can't just sit around complaining about the Provisional Measure," said La Porta. He acknowledges that Brazilian Olympic sport may have become complacent with public funding and plans to engage more with companies, citing the American model. The goal is to reach the end of 2027 with four times more private revenue than in Paris 2024, and the committee is also in dialogue with the government to seek new sources of revenue.
The main instrument of this turnaround is the Olympic Sponsorship Plan (POP). La Porta considers it a success, with 50% of the contracts being transferred to the confederations at three levels. The first company to join, however, was a public bank: Caixa was the first to join the POP and is the main sponsor. The move to the market therefore begins with the State itself.
The magnitude of the loss
According to BNLData's calculations, using figures from the interview itself:
⇒ R$ 130 million is equivalent to more than five editions of the Youth Games. The event brings together almost 5 young people each year, and this year's edition, in Foz do Iguaçu, cost the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) R$ 25 million.
⇒ The cost is more than three times that of Los Angeles. The forecast is to exceed R$40 million in operational and logistical costs alone, surpassing the expenditure for Tokyo 2020.
⇒ This is more than four times the loss that the COB celebrated having avoided in the Public Security Amendment. There, the risk was of losing around R$ 30 million per year, and La Porta thanked the senators for their sensitivity.
The comparison with the proposed constitutional amendment exposes the asymmetry. The smaller loss was blocked in Congress through debate and negotiation. The larger loss came via provisional measure, without the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), one of the legal beneficiaries of the betting revenue, being consulted.
State plan, government cut
La Porta has a Sports Government Plan ready to deliver to Lula at the Presidential Palace. The document argues that programs such as the Athlete Grant, the Sports Incentive Law, and the Lottery Law should continue regardless of the government in power. The motto is state policy, not government policy. The plan will be delivered precisely to the government that, through a Provisional Measure, removed the portion of sports betting from the budget.
In the interview, the official avoided confronting the Presidential Palace. He even conceded the government's argument by emphasizing concern for public health and gambling addiction. He did not mention that it was regulation that gave the State tools to protect gamblers, and that prohibition pushes this public towards illegal websites.
Chain reaction of losses
The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) is just the most visible tip of the iceberg. A survey published by BNLData shows that Olympic and Paralympic sports could lose R$ 2,6 billion by the end of 2027. The projection includes R$ 497 million that will no longer be transferred between October and December 2026 and R$ 2,1 billion of the revenue projected for 2027. The Brazilian Paralympic Committee received R$ 57,4 million from bets in 2025, totaled R$ 54,1 million up to September 2026, and projected R$ 82,1 million for 2027. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (CBC) estimates a shortfall of approximately R$ 50 million.
Provisional Measure No. 1.394/2026, published on September 25, was extended for 60 days and will expire on March 4, 2027, if it is not voted on. Meanwhile, Olympic sports are recalculating their plans for Los Angeles.
