Brazil Federal Police to create dedicated units for illegal betting and match-fixing

Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) is reorganizing one of its directorates to give illegal betting and match-fixing their own permanent units. For PSPs and acquirers, the interesting part is not the bureaucratic reshuffle itself; it is that Brazil is building a more specialized enforcement machine around the part of the market operators usually hope stays messy.

1. According to government officials, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has already approved the plan. PF chief Andrei Rodrigues sent the reorganization document to the Ministry of Justice on 25 September. The new structure will sit under the General Coordination for Combating Money Laundering and Asset Recovery (CGLA), within the directorate for organized crime and corruption (Dicor).
2. The CGLA will include financial intelligence, a unit investigating crimes involving crypto assets, and a unit for tracing, managing, and disposing of seized assets. In total, the plan creates 17 new administrative units.
3. Brazil’s government has been focusing on the illegal market after deciding on a full ban. A softer option was also discussed: banning only online casinos and tightening advertising rules. Inside the presidential circle, a full ban was described as a risky move, because failure to control illegal platforms could damage the government’s credibility.
4. On 29 September, the Ministry of Justice said it had requested the blocking of 5,209 betting sites that started operating illegally after the measure took effect. From March 2023 to August 2026, the PF carried out 12 operations targeting illegal betting and match-fixing. Those investigations led to at least 73 search warrants, 15 arrest warrants, and a request to seize assets worth R$4.17 billion (about $780 million).
5. Crypto seizures have also grown. In 2025, police seized cryptocurrency worth R$71 million, compared with R$11.1 million a year earlier. In May, on the eve of the World Cup, the PF had already created a temporary task force for match-fixing and illegal betting. The new structure will be permanent, which is the part that matters for compliance teams: enforcement is no longer being handled as a one-off campaign.