Chair of betting at CPI, Kajuru, appears in 'Bet' advertisement

President of the new CPI on Sports Betting in the Senate, Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) is the poster boy for a betting company on an interview programme he has on a TV station.

He does merchandising for BETesporte in the interval of the programme he presents, Podk Liberados, on TV Meio, based in Piauí.

On 6 April, he and Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF) interviewed Finance Minister Fernando Haddad. In one of the programme breaks, Kajuru appears advertising the betting company.

"BETesporte heats up the game. At BETesporte, you'll find the best odds to heat up the match and make everything more exciting," he says in the advert.

When contacted by a local media, Kajuru said that he made the advertisement because the betting company advertises on the station that hosts his programme.

"It's not a sponsorship for me, it's for TV," he says. The senator says that he started advertising for the company a fortnight ago and that he did some research beforehand to find out if it was reputable.

"I checked it out, it's a serious company, there are no complaints, it sponsors several football teams," he says.

Kajuru says that if the company is investigated, it will be called to explain itself. "I'll call them straight away.

He also confirms that from now on, since he is chairing the CPI, he will not do any more personal advertisements of BET or any other bet company. The commission was installed at the Senate on Wednesday.

TV Meio has broadcasts in many other states of Brazil and also has streaming channels.

By Fábio Zanini & Paulo Passos