Federal District police investigate illegal betting scheme after R$3.4bn blocked
Enforcement & compliance1 min read
In brief
- Federal District Civil Police launched Operation Azzardo, which ended with just over R$3.4bn blocked.
- The operation followed communications from the SPA sent about five months earlier.
- A fintech reportedly moved about R$1bn for the group.
- The ANJL said the case shows the size of Brazil's illegal betting market.
The Federal District Civil Police launched Operation Azzardo on Thursday, according to the Brazilian gaming association ANJL. The operation targeted a scheme involving illegal betting houses and ended with the blocking of just over R$3.4bn. The ANJL said the case is further evidence of the size of the clandestine betting market in Brazil.
The operation was made possible by communications that the Finance Ministry's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) sent to the Federal District police about five months earlier. Investigations uncovered a criminal structure that used several front companies to receive pix payments from people deceived by the illegal sites. A fintech involved in the scheme reportedly moved about R$1bn for the group on its own.
ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge said the case shows the importance of combating the illegal betting market. He said money laundering and criminal association are among the main activities of illegal operators. The ANJL said that, following the Provisional Measure that banned the legal fixed-odds betting market, these networks are expected to expand in the coming months.
Legitbet, the platform the ANJL runs to monitor the illegal market, reported in its most recent survey that it had identified "mais de 60 mil" illegal sites in Brazil since it began tracking them. Of those sites, roughly "35 mil" are currently active and reachable.