After several issues of match-fixing and illegal sports betting, the Brazilian government has launched a new framework to bring this to an end.
Brazil has introduced a new regulatory framework designed to stamp out match-fixing and of sporting events in the country.
The federal government of Brazil passed the National Policy for the Prevention and Confrontation of the Manipulation of Sports Results (PNPEMR), on 2 April.
At the centre of the framework are four core principles in order to uphold the integrity of Brazilian sporting events:
- Regulation will standardise the receiving and handling of suspicious reports.
- Monitoring will routinely assess the handling and exchange of integrity data amongst national and international organisations.
- Prevention will give operators direct guidance to best practices to halt manipulation of integrity.
- Repression will see the coordination of Brazilian security organisations to take down criminal networks manipulating sporting events.
The framework also outlines principles such as sports integrity, ethics, merit and prevention with accountability. The actions must also observe legality, due process of law and protection of personal data.
Among the objectives of the PNPEMR is the promotion of permanent education on integrity for athletes, referees, coaches and managers, the protection of whistleblowers, the training of public agents and the strengthening of criminal investigations.
The implementation of the policy will be enforced via a national plan, which should define goals, actions and monitoring mechanisms.
The Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security will oversee the public security system, while the Federal Police will be in charge of investigations with interstate or international repercussions related to the manipulation of sports results, in addition to the maintenance of monitoring systems, information exchange and international cooperation.
Daniele Correa Cardoso, Secretary of Awards and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, said: “The Secretariat’s performance is oriented to the protection of the citizen and the popular economy, with integrity mechanisms and continuous monitoring of the market.
“Cooperation between agencies is essential to prevent risks and ensure a safe environment,” added Cardoso, in an interview for the official portal of the federal government.
Brazil’s past match-fixing issues
While Brazil launched its regulated sports betting market in January 2025, this came following several years of match-fixing and illegal betting issues stemming out of Brazil.
The most prevalent case occurred in 2023, when several Brazilian football players received lengthy-yearly participating bans after being found to have ‘spot-fixed’ selected Série A and Série B matches working for a criminal organisation.
Players, such as Eduardo Bauermann and Romário, were found guilty of receiving up to $20,000 (R$100,000) to either receive a yellow or red card in games as criminal organisations placed bets on those players to receive the cards.
The 2023 scandal, known as Operação Penalidade Máxima (Operation Maximum Penalty), can be viewed as the result of the need for PNPEMR in a bid to remove criminal organisations’ influence over the integrity of sporting events and outcomes.
Despite the aftermath of Operation Maximum Penalty still ongoing, so too is suspicious sporting betting activity in Brazil.
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) found in 2025 that of the 33 suspicious football betting alerts in South America, 19 came from Brazil.
This story first appeared in Insider Sport’s sister publication SBC Noticías Brasil.
