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The impending regulation of gambling in Brazil has generated multiple actual and potential legal battles, as the first deadline for applying for licences fast approaches on August 20.

First up, the board of directors of the popular sports club Flamengo has approved their very own sports betting platform “Flabet.” FlaBet will be run with their sponsor, Pixbet, and offer betting on online casino games as well as sports matches.

The move is not without its controversy, as at least one lawyer, the legal director of the Brazilian Responsible Gaming Institute (IBJR) Rafael Marchetti Marcondes, has said that it is directly at odds with Law 14.790, calling it “clear attempt to circumvent Brazilian law, which prohibits an operator from owning a football club”.

Other court challenges are also still alive and well, with Rio de Janeiro’s state lottery Loterj fighting its increasingly lengthy battle to block sites that they have not licensed. 

This week, Loterj filed an appeal of the decision ordering telecoms providers to unblock unlicensed sites. 

The judge had initially ruled in Loterj’s favour, ordering websites to be restricted, but after technical difficulties and complaints from internet service providers, the court reversed its initial decision.

Those technical difficulties included warnings from AT&T Brazil that blocking within one state would be impossible. 

Loterj appears to remain undeterred: “Anyone who currently operates this activity without the appropriate authorization is in complete disregard of the established legal framework,” the company said in a statement. 

“The pioneering role of the Rio de Janeiro State government in regulating the betting market is essential for the protection of bettors, legal security, the regularization of companies and the generation of jobs.”

Meanwhile, a bill has just passed in the Constitution and Justice Committee in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies that would strengthen penalties for sports professionals caught up in match-fixing. 

The former president of Flamengo said of the bill: "The aim of the proposal is not to criminalise players and referees, but to remember the power of influence and decision-making that they have during matches, and in the event of wrongdoing, to criminalise such conduct."

Brazilian sports fans have watched the country become embroiled in a match-fixing storm in recent months. 

Problems were first identified in local leagues in the Goiás state and reached all the way to England’s Premier League, in the form of the questionable penalties from Brazilian player Lucas Paquetá. 

If passed, the bill would amend the fan statute, according to which match-fixing carries a possible sentence of two to six years and a fine. That penalty would increase by one third to one half for professional athletes and referees if passed.