The originator of jogo do bicho was baron João Batista Viana Drummond (pt), a Brazilian-born Englishman, to whom Emperor Dom Pedro II awarded a title and the concession to the Rio de Janeiro Zoological Garden in the Vila Isabel neighborhood in the late 19th century.
In 1892, as a publicity measure, Drummond encouraged visitors to guess the identity of an animal concealed behind a curtain, and paid prizes off to winners.
Within months, government authorities made its first attempt to shut down the game,[4] but it simply shifted to the city, an environment in which it has thrived ever since.
[3] Rudyard Kipling, visiting Rio in the 1920s, wrote of seeing bookies wandering the streets carrying placards with colourful pictures of animals.
[5] The game is said to have become popular because it accepted bets of any amount, in a time when most Brazilians struggled to survive a very deep economic crisis.
"[6] For the following decades official policy fluctuated between tolerance of the game, sometimes motivated by corruption, and intermittent campaigns to crack down on gambling.
[6] To foster public support, the bicheiros have invested part of their enormous earnings in activities, like the financing of samba schools and football clubs.
Since the early 1990s, bicheiros have expanded their activities to bingo parlors, video poker and slot machines, known in Brazil as "nickel hunters" (caça-níqueis).
[10] It was reported by the New York Times in 2007 that it was played everywhere in Brazil, and especially in Rio de Janeiro, from where the scheme was operated by about a dozen bosses, called bicheiros.
[11] On 22 November 1991, the state's Attorney General Antônio Carlos Biscaia, filed a complaint and a request for imprisonment against the 14 members of Rio's Jogo do Bicho cúpula (central commission), whom he accuses of forming a gang that acted with the aim of guaranteeing and expanding its business not only in the illegal lottery, but also in drug trafficking.
[16][17][18][19] Antonio Petrus Kalil, Anísio Abraão David and Capitão Guimarães, at the time president of the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro, were again arrested on April 12, 2007, together with 24 people, for alleged involvement with illegal numbers games, bingo parlors and the distribution of slot machines.
All it takes is a scribbled note or a phone call to any of the thousands of bicheiros who haunt the street corners, shops and offices of every city, easily identified by their sunglasses, cigars and/or typical floral or printed shirts.
Drawings are usually held at 2 PM in local bicho headquarters, and the winning numbers are immediately dispatched by taxi and bicycle and scribbled in chalk on designated walls and lampposts.
The name of the game arises from the mnemonic association of the drawn numbers with a random selection of 25 animals: (Ostrich) (Eagle) (Donkey) (Butterfly) (Dog) (Goat) (Ram) (Camel) (Snake) (Rabbit) (Horse) (Elephant) (Rooster) (Cat) (Alligator) (Lion) (Monkey) (Pig) (Peacock) (Turkey) (Bull) (Tiger) (Bear) (Deer) (Cow) Over the decades, superstitious theory has evolved around selecting the proper animal, much of it involving dreams.
When the Rio papers published the picture of a derailed locomotive in the 1960s, so many bet on the last four figures of its registration number that the bicheiros were forced to warn that they could not pay off at the usual odds if it won.
The traditional four types of prizes are as follows: If the last two numerals in the daily state lottery draw form one of the four numbers associated with an animal, a bicheiro will pay out 15 Reais for a bet of 1 Real.
In the game, 24 is the number given to the deer (veado in Portuguese), an animal that has long been pejoratively associated with gay men (insulted as viados).
[23][24] In 2022, only 4 teams in the Brasileirão use the jersey 24: América-MG, Internacional de Porto Alegre, Santos FC and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.