Brazil launches six-month task force to craft national policy against match-fixing

• Federal government creates six-month working group to design a National Policy to Combat Sports Result Manipulation
• Ministries of Finance, Sports, and Justice to coordinate with Federal Police and integrity partners
• Move follows Brazil’s decision to join the Macolin Convention and recent high-profile discipline cases

Brazil has formed an interministerial task force to design a National Policy to Combat Sports Result Manipulation, formalised by an ordinance signed by the Ministries of Finance, Sports, and Justice and Public Security, with an initial mandate of six months and the option to renew for a further six months.

The working group will operate nationwide and aims to standardise prevention, detection, and enforcement protocols across agencies as Brazil’s regulated betting market matures in 2025. It reflects growing concern over integrity risks and seeks to align government action with international frameworks and local realities.

The group comprises representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Sports, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and will coordinate efforts with the Federal Police to centralise complaint handling and enforcement. The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) is already pursuing integrity cooperation agreements, including a five‑year data-sharing pact with Integrity Compliance 360 to bolster monitoring and early-warning systems.

This new task force complements SPA’s broader regulatory programme, which targets responsible gambling safeguards and a National Betting System to harmonise federal and state oversight. The task force’s core deliverable is a national policy blueprint grounded in principles of integrity, transparency, and legality in sports competitions, with clear flows for receiving, triaging, and investigating match-fixing complaints.

Its creation comes amid increased reports of manipulation and enforcement actions in Brazilian football, including a 12‑match ban and fine for Flamengo forward Bruno Henrique issued by the Superior Court of Sports Justice this month. Authorities view the policy as a way to reduce overlaps between bodies and to improve coordinated action across the sports, law enforcement, and betting ecosystems

The move also follows Brazil’s decision to join the Council of Europe’s Macolin Convention, the international treaty against the manipulation of sports competitions, signalling intent to enhance cross-border cooperation and data exchange. Brazilian officials have framed accession as part of a broader integrity drive to ensure public trust in the country’s sports betting regulation and to channel consumers toward licensed operators.

“It will implement an integrated flow for processing complaints, avoiding overlaps between agencies and aligning with international best practices while prioritizing local realities,” said Sports Minister André Fufuca, commenting on the task force’s remit and coordination model.

“The task force’s main mission is to draft a National Policy to Combat Sports Result Manipulation, with the aim of safeguarding the credibility of competitions across the country,” added Giovanni Rocco, National Secretary for Sports Betting and Sports Economic Development, who will coordinate the group with Federal Police support.

“Integrity entities such as IC360 play a fundamental role in supporting SPA’s activities, especially in identifying signs of match-fixing, in addition to the structured exchange of information,” commented Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Finance, on Brazil’s integrity agreements underpinning the government’s monitoring capacity.

With the market live and oversight measures rolling out, the interministerial group is expected to align domestic enforcement with global standards while tailoring processes to Brazil’s legal and operational context.