Sports law criminalizes private corruption practiced in the sports sector

At the beginning of 2023, Brazilian media reported an illicit sports betting scheme involving athletes and officials from professional football, as well as match-fixing, including in the Brazilian A Series Championship, once again bringing up the issue of sports integrity and private corruption in sports.

Coincidentally or not, on June 15, 2023, the General Sports Law (Law 14,597/2023) came into effect, which, in addition to expressly repealing the Brazilian Sports Fans Statute, regulated sports activities, provided for the order and economic integrity of sports, fostered a culture of peace and prohibited criminal conduct.

In this regard, the chapter on crimes against the sports economic order established the crime of private corruption in sports (Article 165). According to the new provision, anyone who demands, requests, accepts, or receives undue advantage as a representative of a private sports organization, in order to benefit themselves or others, directly or indirectly, or accepts a promise of undue advantage, in order to perform or omit an act inherent to their duties, may commit the crime and consequently receive a penalty of two to four years of imprisonment and a fine.

Furthermore, the same penalty applies to anyone who offers, promises, delivers, or pays, directly or indirectly, an undue advantage to the representative of the private sports organization. It should be noted that private corruption in sports has been structured as a specific crime, restricting the practice of acts to the “representative of a private sports organization,” even if it is intended to benefit third parties.

The legislative innovation is in compliance with the guidelines of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, promulgated by Decree 5,687/2006, in which Brazil committed to making efforts to criminalize corruption practiced in the private sector. It is also worth highlighting that the battle against corruption, which is traditionally associated with conduct within the public sector, has revealed the need to criminalize such acts within the private sphere as well, especially in sports.

In an increasingly important sports competitions landscape, the General Sports Law aims to reinforce the protection of the parties involved in the sports field, which ultimately provides a healthier and more fruitful environment for event organizers, sponsors, athletes, teams, and other stakeholders, thus ensuring the integrity of the sports economy.

Demarest’s White-Collar Crime team is available to provide any further clarification that may be necessary on the topic.