Brazil Federal Police Creates Dedicated Units to Combat Illegal Betting and Match-Fixing

Brazil’s Federal Police is establishing permanent specialist units focused on illegal betting and sports match-fixing, combining gambling investigations with financial intelligence, asset tracing and action against money laundering involving cryptocurrencies.

Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) is strengthening its gambling enforcement structure with dedicated divisions targeting illegal betting and the manipulation of sporting results, as the government expands its financial-crime response to unauthorized gambling.

The units will form part of the new Coordenação-Geral de Repressão à Lavagem de Dinheiro e Recuperação de Ativos (CGLA), a permanent central structure within the Federal Police directorate responsible for organised crime and corruption investigations.

The CGLA brings several previously dispersed functions under one command, including anti-money-laundering investigations, financial intelligence, asset investigations and asset recovery. Its new structure will include separate divisions dedicated to illegal betting and sports result manipulation.

Authorities say this will allow investigators to follow suspicious gambling funds throughout the full enforcement cycle — from identifying transactions and financial networks to freezing, seizing and ultimately recovering criminal assets. The structure will also cover laundering schemes involving cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets.

The reform gives permanent status to work already being conducted by the Federal Police. Earlier in 2026, PF established a temporary unit known as Base Apostas, focused on betting fraud and suspected manipulation of sporting events. The new organisational structure embeds those functions more formally within the force.

Brazilian authorities have already conducted several major investigations involving unauthorized betting networks. In July, Operation Slots targeted a suspected money-laundering structure using illegal betting platforms and payment intermediaries, with courts authorising the freezing and seizure of assets worth up to R$951.1 million. In August, Operation Arena targeted another network and secured judicial measures involving up to R$1.1 billion in assets.

The restructuring comes amid Brazil’s broader crackdown following Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which prohibited fixed-odds betting and created a new inter-agency enforcement framework covering websites, financial flows, advertising and payment channels. A separate federal committee is also responsible for coordinating information on domains, applications and financial accounts linked to illegal betting activity.

For Brazil, the creation of permanent specialist divisions signals that illegal betting and match-fixing are increasingly being treated not simply as gambling-regulation issues, but as part of the wider fight against financial crime and organised criminal networks. The new structure should give the Federal Police greater capacity to connect suspicious betting activity with money laundering, asset concealment and manipulation in professional sport.