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Illegal betting scheme worth $9.7B exposed in Brazil
Rio Grande do Norte’s Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted an investigation on June 18, exposing an illegal gambling scheme suspected of moving over $9.7 billion in online and fixed-odds betting.
The enforcement action called Operation Conto da Sorte was launched in collaboration with the Federal Revenue Service, focusing on identifying crimes of money laundering, operating illegal gambling and lotteries, as well as criminal association and crimes against consumer protection.
The court orders were issued by the second Court of the District of Currais Novos and were executed in the Pernambuco, Ceará, and Sāo Paulo states. Under 14 search and seizure warrants against 7 individuals and 6 companies, authorities collected documents and media to identify the full structure of the illegal operations.
Robinson Barreirinhas, Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue Service, commented:
“50 billion is the sum of the transactions between 37 companies identified in each of the components of this organization.”
According to the findings, the scheme used multiple gambling and payment processing companies, with some entities acting as mules for bank transactions. Additionally, it was revealed that the illegal operation used the Bodó City Hall’s Lotseridó agency, which regulated gambling companies for a short time and closed down in October 2025. After this period, the scheme operated illegally without a license from the SPA.
Finance Minister Dario Durigan and the Federal Revenue Service further added that they would continue fighting against illegal betting operations, fraud, and tax evasion through ongoing partnerships between government agencies.
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