Personnel Ordinance 955 was published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday (2), signed by the Chief of Staff, Rui Costa, appointing lawyer Giovanni Rocco Neto as the new head of the National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports at the Ministry of Sports.

With a postgraduate degree in Political Science, Rocco Neto was the executive director of Ability Government Relations and director of programs and projects for the Intermunicipal Consortium of Grande ABC (metropolitan region of São Paulo). A former advisor on government and economic affairs for the city of São Bernardo do Campo, he headed the Association for the Defense of Integrity, Rights and Duties in Games and Betting.

At the National Sports Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Sports, he will be responsible for preparing studies and coordinating actions to promote the development of the sports market, with a focus on combating match-fixing and improving sports development actions in Brazil.

He will also be responsible for monitoring the work of the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance in analyzing and approving ‘Bets’ license requests. The Ministry of Sports will approve the authorizations granted by the SPA, and this will be one of Rocco Neto’s most important actions as head of the Secretariat.

In the event of any discrepancy between the decisions of the SPA and the National Sports Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Sports, the final decision will be made by the Attorney General’s Office.

Source: GMB