SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Brazil’s government has confirmed the appointment of Nelson Leitão Paes as ‘acting secretary-general’ of SECAP, the agency leading Brazilian public policy development for the agriculture, energy and lottery sectors.
The appointment follows the abrupt departure of former incumbent Alexander Manoel, who resigned from SECAP leadership in January after choosing to no longer work for the government.
Leitão Paes’ appointment has been approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, thereby allowing its senior civil servant for trade union relationships to transfer to SECAP as interim leader.
Brazil’s PSL government had previously notified SECAP stakeholders that the agency would be reformed by April to help agriculture, energy and lottery industries navigate global COVID-19 disruptions.
Confirming Leitão Paes as interim secretary-general, SECAP has made no official statement on the progress of developing a federal sports betting framework for Brazil – a key objective of its 2020 policy agenda.
SECAP’s last official update on sports betting proceedings was issued back in February when the agency published its third consultation seeking stakeholder guidance on federal concession models (fixed licensing vs open frameworks).
The policy agency had been pressured to relaunch a consultation on licensing models following complaints from Brazil’s National Treasury with regards to the lack of federal oversight governing key industry disciplines.
In its complaints, the National Treasury stated that SECAP’s draft policies had not indicated how the government would handle key criteria attached to monitoring incumbents, issuing penalties and collecting tax duties.
