The fallout from an ongoing scandal involving Brazilian soccer star Lucas Paqueta and yellow cards has forced some sportsbooks to take action. The drama is just the latest to arrive in the sports betting ecosystem, and operators are now working overtime to clean the field.
Six of the UK’s leading betting companies have opted to stop betting related to yellow cards on Paqueta, who plays for the English Premier League team West Ham. The decision follows questionable bets placed on the 25-year-old during a few previous games.
As reported by Mail Sport, the decision to stop the markets follows a consultation with legal advisors, with the aim of preserving the integrity of the operators. It’s worth mentioning that despite the ongoing investigation, West Ham have opted to keep Paqueta in their first team in the Premier League.
Expulsion for Card Markets
Paqueta allegedly – and perhaps intentionally – received a yellow card during a match last season, although he has not yet been officially accused. The Football Association (FA) is looking into the accusations, as well as three other suspicious cases with other players in the same league.
Betway, which reported the potential violations to the FA and is a West Ham sponsor, is one of the operators that chose to withdraw the yellow card market. Along with it are Bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power, SkyBet and William Hill.
However, they are apparently only pulling the markets that involve Paqueta. All other bookings and penalties related to other players are going to remain intact, at least for now.
The suspensions were reportedly in-house decisions the operators made independently. The FA recently stated that it believes all booking markets should be banned, but the operators indicated that their decisions were not influenced by the FA’s position.
A change of this size would need intervention from the UK Gambling Commission, but because it is more difficult, the FA is reportedly discussing options with the operators individually. If they don’t accept the proposal, the FA may push for a ban in the lower leagues and in the first rounds of England’s less important championships.
Bookings Betting Ban in Brazil
A similar initiative to ban betting on yellow or red cards in soccer is underway in Brazil. The country has been the subject of a long-running investigation into potential match-fixing, the timing of which couldn’t be worse.
Brazil is only now in the process of finalizing the rules for what will become a regulated sports betting market. As such, any activity or scandal that negatively impacts the perception of betting could lead to changes or restrictions in the final regulations.
The evangelical caucus of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies is going a step further and is trying to block the approval of the legislation completely. Brazilian media outlet Folha de São Paulo recently reported that one of the leaders of this sector in Congress, Deputy Silas House, considers betting as harmful as drugs. He said the caucus doesn’t support gambling under any circumstances because it’s “synonymous with addiction and a disgrace for the Brazilian family.”
The caucus, which has a significantly strong position in politics, has been able to block gambling initiatives in the past. It isn’t a political party but, rather, a group comprised of legislators whose ideals align. Media outlet Gazeta Do Povo once described it as being the third-strongest political alliance in the country.
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