Nelson Leitão Paes has been confirmed by the Brazilian government as the new ‘acting secretary-general’ of SECAP, the agency leading Brazilian public policy development for the agriculture, energy and lottery sectors.
Paes’ official appointment follows on from the departure of former secretary-general Alexander Manoel who retired from his SECAP leadership position earlier in the year having chosen to forgo working for the Brazilian government.
In addition to being confirmed by the Brazilian government, Paes’ appointment was also approved by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, thereby allowing its senior civil servant for trade union relationships to transfer to SECAP as interim leader.
The appointment of the new acting secretary-general builds on the notification sent out by Brazil’s PSL government to SECAP stakeholders which stated that the agency would undergo an April reform with the goal of aiding agriculture, energy and lottery industries to navigate global COVID-19 disruptions.
Despite the appointment, SECAP is yet to make any 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.
