Loterj terminates RioPag contract and seeks R$ 9.4 million from the payment provider

The Rio de Janeiro state lottery, Loterj, has unilaterally terminated its contract with RioPag S.A., the company that held the monopoly on payment services for state-licensed betting operators. For PSPs and operators in high-risk verticals, the interesting part is not just the breakup: Loterj is also pursuing R$ 9.4 million in fines, withheld amounts, financial gains, and interest.

1. The unilateral termination of Contract 003/2023 was signed on Tuesday (22/9) and published in the Official Gazette of the State of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday (23/9). The contract covered payment services for betting houses credentialed by the state.
2. According to reporting by Demétrio Vecchioli at Metrópoles, Loterj is charging RioPag R$ 9.4 million in penalties, retained funds, improper financial gains, and interest. The figure matters because this is not just a contract exit; it is also a collection dispute over money that passed through the payment flow.
3. At its peak, RioPag reportedly generated more than R$ 30 million in a single month from just one betting operator. That was possible because, for a period, Rio de Janeiro allowed state-licensed bets to operate across Brazil; that arrangement was later overturned by the Supreme Federal Court.
4. The economics were stark. RioPag kept up to 2.5% of each transaction between bettors and betting houses, a cost that could triple the amount paid by bets in state taxes. By contrast, federally licensed betting operators can freely hire payment intermediaries that charge around 0.20%, which is twelve times below RioPag’s ceiling.
5. The contract breakdown was gradual. In January 2025, as video lottery operations were expected to begin, Loterj asked RioPag by official letter to suspend transfers owed to the agency. In April 2026, Loterj requested the transfer of about R$ 20 million retained by the company; RioPag asked for time and proposed instalments.
6. After RioPag resisted, Loterj sought a court freeze of the company’s assets. The court approved the measure, but the amount was not found in the company’s banking system. RioPag then deposited about R$ 16 million, leaving a shortfall of roughly R$ 4 million.
7. In its administrative proceeding, Loterj said it identified four violations: lack of transparency and incomplete information for supervision; obstruction of the administration’s supervisory powers; financial management of public resources without contractual basis or specific administrative authorization; and unilateral alteration of the agreed payment flow. Loterj treated those actions as serious, repeated, and unjustified contractual default, and based the termination on Articles 77, 78, and 79 of Federal Law No. 8.666/1993.

For high-risk PSPs, the practical takeaway is simple: once a regulator or lottery authority controls the payment rail, the contractual terms around settlement, retention, and reporting can become the real battleground. The spread between 2.5% and 0.20% also shows why payment routing decisions in regulated betting can quickly turn into a margin story, not just a compliance story.