By the end of July, the federal government should have another department dedicated to monitoring sports betting, this time linked to the Ministry of Sports.

According to Minister André Fufuca, the new body will work for the integrity of the sport , amid allegations of match-fixing. The statement was made in an interview with Band News FM this Thursday (27).

“There is no point in us creating a department that will work on the issue of revenue from betting if we do not work for its integrity,” he stressed.

Operation Jogo Limpo was launched last Wednesday (26), fulfilling 11 search and seizure warrants.

Manipulation in the D series

Operation Clean Play investigates the involvement of a betting scheme in the game between Inter de Limeira and Patrocinense, played on June 1st.

During the match, Patrocinense conceded three goals in the first half, one of which was an own goal. According to the investigation, people had profited from the specific bet that Patrocinense would lose the game with a margin of at least two goals.

The case reached the Federal Police after a report from Sportsradar , a company specializing in fraud detection, was sent to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). According to the report, 99% of the attempted turnover in the “first half goals total” market in this match was for the result expected by bettors.

Search and seizure warrants were issued in the cities of Patrocínio, São José do Rio Preto (SP), São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Tanguá (RJ) and Nova Friburgo (RJ). The targets of the investigation include players, a businessman and the coach who was in charge of Patrocinense at the time of the match.