Loterj has unilaterally terminated its contract with RioPag, the payment intermediary for betting operators it licenses.
Beyond the BR4.8m fine, it is claiming BR9.4m in total, including interest and other sums, and has ordered the return of over BR$2.1m in gains earned while its funds were retained.
The dispute began in January 2025, when then-president Hazenclever Cançado instructed RioPag to stop paying the authority's share of revenue.
Loterj revisited the issue in April 2026 and demanded around BR20m. RioPag first did not respond, then requested more time and proposed installments, saying it lacked the funds, although it reported them to Loterj monthly.
It later said the money was in a six-month Santander lock-up, accessible in October. A court-ordered asset freeze found nothing in the banking system. RioPag then deposited around BR16m via a payment company described as a competitor.
Loterj cited four breaches: incomplete information for oversight; obstruction of supervision; financial management of public funds without demonstrated authorisation; and unilateral changes to the contractual financial flow. It called this grave, repeated and unjustified default.
RioPag charged operators up to 2.5% per transaction, against around 0.20% typically charged by intermediaries for nationally licensed operators. Local news outlets reported it once earned over BR30m in a month from a single operator, before the Supreme Court barred state-licensed operators from national activity.
Lawyer Willer Tomaz, who previously worked for Loterj’s ex-President, Hanzeclever Lopes Cançado, helped recruit operators to Rio's licence. He says he is only RioPag's lawyer, not a shareholder.
Loterj recently established a partnership with social welfare organization RioSolidário
