Brazil Olympic Committee against bill that would redirect sports betting tax funds 

Brazil's Olympic Committee (COB) has moved to oppose a provision that threatens to cut up to 30% of fixed-odds betting revenue currently allocated to sport. 

PEC 18/2025, the bill, is in the Public Security constitutional amendment.

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said the bill's progress in the Senate is set to resume shortly, after already clearing the Chamber of Deputies.

The COB estimates the financial impact on sport at around half a million reais a year

The bill would redirect a growing share of net betting revenue toward the National Public Security Fund and the National Penitentiary Fund, starting at 10% in 2026, rising to 20% in 2027, and reaching 30% from 2028 onward, where it would remain fixed. 

That share would be drawn from the pool currently distributed to recipients including the Ministry of Sport, the COB itself, the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and other sports entities, effectively cutting the funds these institutions and areas like social security and tourism currently receive.

In its campaign against the provision, the COB plans to argue that sport plays a preventive role in reducing risk factors linked to violence and youth crime, strengthening life skills and expanding young people's capacity to make positive choices, positioning sports funding as complementary to public security policy rather than competing with it. 

The Senate has already held a hearing specifically addressing the bill's impact on sports funding ahead of a Senate vote.

Recently, a new bill introduced in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies would bar sports commentators, presenters and reporters from promoting or discussing betting during live broadcasts.