Brazil Prosecutors Secure Admissions in Illegal Betting Scheme Probe

Three people under investigation in Operação Conto da Sorte signed an agreement with the Rio Grande do Norte state prosecutor’s office on October 15, 2026, admitting participation in an illegal betting scheme, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, which disclosed the agreement on October 16, 2026.

The agreement provides for the payment of R$200,000 and the forfeiture of a further R$1.2 million, totaling R$1.4 million. The three admitted participation in the facts investigated under Operação Conto da Sorte, which the ministry said originated from a technical analysis by its Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).

How the Scheme Operated

The operation investigates a group suspected of illegally exploiting games of chance, using, among other mechanisms, the Lotseridó, a lottery created by the city hall of Bodó, a municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte. The investigations also identified the use of front companies and digital tools to direct users to illegal betting platforms.

According to the investigations, the group invaded the systems of public bodies and inserted code into pages with “.gov.br” and “.edu.br” domains to redirect users to illegal betting sites. The strategy exploited the credibility of those pages to give the clandestine platforms an appearance of legitimacy and to mislead the public.

To move money and conceal those actually responsible for the scheme, the individuals under investigation used front companies registered in the names of third parties, among them low-income people, beneficiaries of social programs and relatives of the organizers, the ministry reported. The group’s leaders kept control of the bank accounts through powers of attorney.

The companies operated at nonexistent addresses, in empty commercial rooms or in virtual offices. Even after the companies’ registrations were cancelled at the Receita Federal, Brazil’s federal revenue service, the group continued moving resources and maintaining operations. According to the Rio Grande do Norte prosecutor’s office, 21 companies were registered at the same fictitious address in Bodó.

June Raids and Investigative Findings

The Receita Federal carried out Operação Conto da Sorte on June 18, 2026, in partnership with the public prosecutor’s offices of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. The operation executed 14 search-and-seizure warrants in the states of Pernambuco, Ceará and São Paulo, as well as measures to seize assets and rights up to a limit of R$145 million, the Receita Federal reported. The action targeted an irregular betting-exploitation scheme and the investigation of possible tax, financial and money-laundering crimes.

The investigations indicate that betting companies operated without authorization from the SPA, the Finance Ministry secretariat that authorizes betting operations, and moved billions of reais, the revenue service said. According to the agencies involved, the group formed dozens of companies tied to the exploitation of games of chance and to payment institutions, using third parties without apparent economic capacity to hide the businesses’ true controllers.

Investigators also identified indications of financial movement incompatible with the income declared by those under investigation, possible tax evasion, money laundering through the acquisition of real estate, and the absence of payments required under the legislation regulating the betting sector. The Receita Federal said its role included fiscal analysis of those investigated, verification that the legal entities involved were actually functioning, assessment of the economic and financial capacity of partners and administrators, and identification of possible de facto economic groups.

Monitoring and Institutional Cooperation

Beyond its participation in the operation, the Receita Federal works jointly with the SPA in monitoring irregular betting operations. That work includes identifying financial institutions, individuals and companies involved in moving resources or in publicizing unauthorized platforms, enabling administrative, tax and, where applicable, criminal measures against those involved.

Commenting on the social effects of irregular betting, the Receita Federal’s special secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas, emphasized the importance of combating unauthorized betting platforms and their effects on society.

“Illegal bets drain resources from the popular economy and harm the finances of Brazilian families,” Barreirinhas said. “Beyond operating without submitting to the rules of regulation, without the obligations imposed on authorized companies, they can favor indebtedness and family breakdown and generate effects that go beyond the economic sphere, constituting also a public-health issue.”

Alongside the operation, the Receita Federal signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement with the Pernambuco prosecutor’s office to expand institutional integration, knowledge sharing and the development of joint actions in the public interest. With the signature, Pernambuco became the second Brazilian state, after São Paulo, to establish that cooperation model between the revenue service and a state prosecutor’s office.

The Receita Federal also donated seized electronic equipment to the Pernambuco prosecutor’s office, part of its institutional policy for allocating seized goods. The handover took place during a ceremony attended by Barreirinhas; 4th Fiscal Region superintendent Myrelle Miranda; Sergio Messias, coordinator-general of the agency’s Research and Investigation Coordination; and Pernambuco prosecutor-general José Paulo Xavier.

Under the October 15 agreement, companies linked to the group must prove, within 180 days, that they have implemented an integrity program, known as compliance. Investigations are continuing in relation to the other parties involved, the ministry said.