The Brazilian Olympic Committee's (COB) push to change a provision in Brazil's Public Security constitutional amendment has succeeded.
After COB opposed the provision, the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) approved the bill's base text without the section that would have cut betting revenue already allocated to sport.
The removed provision would have reduced the share of betting tax revenue directed to sports organizations in order to fund public security investment, a change that COB estimated would have cost Brazil's National Sports System, including the COB itself, around BR500m.
"Today was a historic day for Brazilian sport," said COB President Marco La Porta. "Sport, it's always worth remembering, is fundamental to public security, since it keeps young people away from crime. So it made no sense at all to take resources from sport to fund public security," he said, emphasizing sport's social role.
The change appeared in the report presented by Senator Rogério Carvalho, who incorporated amendment requests from other senators.
Senators Leila Barros, a former volleyball player, and Alessandro Vieira also proposed solutions aimed at preserving the funding. The CCJ is now expected to schedule votes on the remaining sections of the bill still under review, after which the amendment will move to the full Senate floor.
Direct transfers of betting revenue to sports organizations, bypassing ministries or other government bodies, were established under Law 14,790/2023, effective May 21, 2024.
Under that law, 12% of betting revenue, after prizes and income tax deductions, is directed toward social causes including education, health, sport and tourism, with a further 3% reserved for the Federal Police.
Flamengo backed the COB's position, noting betting tax revenue has funded sport since the sector was regulated
