Brazil creates PF division for illegal bets and match-fixing

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has placed a dedicated illegal-betting and match-fixing division inside the Federal Police. Portaria MJSP nº 1.325, signed on 9 October 2026 by minister Wellington César Lima e Silva and published in the Diário Oficial da União on 13 October, adds the Divisão de Repressão a Apostas Ilegais e Manipulação de Esportes (DRAME) to the Federal Police chart, with a Serviço de Análise de Apostas (SEAAP) under it.

Where DRAME sits

In the published annex, DRAME sits under the Coordenação-Geral de Repressão à Lavagem de Dinheiro e Recuperação de Ativos (CGLA), itself inside the Diretoria de Investigação e Combate ao Crime Organizado e à Corrupção (DICOR). SEAAP is listed under DRAME. The portaria amends Portaria MJSP nº 1.112 of 19 December 2025 so the ministry’s commissioned posts match Decreto nº 13.131 of 30 September 2026. FocusGN and iGB Brasil report that the act reorganises existing posts and does not create new vacancies or a public exam.

FocusGN, citing earlier planning coverage, says the Federal Police’s original proposal was two separate divisions — one for illegal betting, one for match-fixing — and that the published version merges both into DRAME. The same reports say the force had already been handling related cases through its “Base Apostas” unit.

Why now

The change lands while Medida Provisória nº 1.394 of 25 September 2026 bans the offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting in Brazil. We covered that ban and later enforcement steps, including TRF-3’s suspension of Stake’s injunction, domain-blocking numbers and refund-data litigation.

A Folha de S.Paulo report on 2 October, written while the two-division plan was still circulating, said that from March 2023 to August 2026 the Federal Police had run 12 operations linked to illegal betting and match-fixing, obtained at least 73 search warrants and 15 arrest warrants, and asked the courts to freeze R$4.17 billion in related assets. Those figures describe earlier PF work, not actions by DRAME, which did not yet exist.

What this means for players

DRAME is an internal reorganisation of the Federal Police, not a new rule for players.

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