Brazil: Audit Court questions state lottery licensing process

TCE-MS has raised concerns that the licensing process for the state lottery, Lotesul, could be annulled.

The Audit Court of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (TCE-MS), has raised concerns over the public bidding process to select an operator for the Loteria Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (Lotesul). 

According to a report signed by auditor Denis Antônio Barbosa de Souza, the bid contains “disproportionate technical requirements” that could restrict competitiveness and risk violating principles of legality and proportionality.

The bidding, published earlier this year, faced immediate pushback. Two impugnation requests were filed, one by businessman Jamil Name Filho and another by Criativa Technology. 

Both complaints argued that the rules of the public bidding process were restrictive and seemed designed to benefit a single company. 

Despite these objections, the Mato Grosso do Sul Government initially kept the process moving and scheduled the lottery license auction.

On the day of the auction, however, a late request for clarification was filed, prompting TCE-MS to intervene. The court suspended the process to investigate the allegations more carefully. It then appointed a team of lottery specialists to review the terms in detail.

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The auditors recommended revising the initial technical study with clear justifications, phasing in implementation through a step-by-step plan, setting objective and measurable proof-of-concept criteria and recalibrating performance metrics in line with the local market. 

The case has attracted national attention because of suspicions that the process was structured to favor Paybrokers, the company that already operates Paraná’s state lottery.

Carlos Mendez

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Odds tell a story long before the result does. When bettors learn to read that story properly, betting becomes a matter of discipline and value rather than emotion or guesswork.

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