The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio Grande do Norte (MPRN) are investigating a betting fraud scheme that is believed to have used municipal licenses in Bodó, a small municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte.
The entities are investigating the fraud involving betting operators that are believed to have used a municipal licensing structure in the small city, located in the Seridó region of the state, with just over 2,300 inhabitants, according to findings by Folha.
As part of the investigation, the courts ordered the freezing of up to R$ 145 million in assets linked to the suspect group.
While the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), part of the Ministry of Finance, charges around R$ 30 million for the grant, plus 12% of gross revenue, in Bodó the cost would be approximately R$ 5,000 for issuing the license, plus an administrative fee of 2% on revenues.
LotSeridó’s operations
The structure was operated by LotSeridó, a municipal agency that is believed to have functioned until October 2025, shortly before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruling that definitively banned municipal lottery licenses, in December of the same year.
Even after the formal shutdown, accredited companies allegedly continued operating without federal authorization.
According to the Federal Revenue Service, the investigated group is believed to have created dozens of companies linked to gambling and payment institutions, which were then formally transferred to third parties without economic capacity, while actual control remained concentrated with those under investigation. Part of these alleged intermediaries reportedly consisted of social program beneficiaries.
Still according to people connected to the investigation, one of the targets of the operation would be Camilo Roma de Brito, president of Analome (National Association of Municipal and State Lotteries), an entity that advocates for the decentralization of the betting licensing model in Brazil. The association works with municipalities and states to defend regulatory autonomy in the sector.
As the report showed, Brito maintained records of 24 betting sites with LotSeridó, some associated with nonexistent addresses in Bodó.
At the time, he stated that he owned only three platforms and said that his companies had been inactive since December 2024, with no operations or revenue, while awaiting clarity on the national regulatory landscape.
He did not respond to additional questions about the inconsistencies pointed out. Members of Analome, when contacted by the staging-latam.next.io/ report, said they had no information regarding the case.