The opening whistle blew early on Friday (28): Brazil's Federal Revenue Service and the Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF) launched Operation Shadow Play (Operação Jogo de Sombras) against the NSX group, owner of the BetNacional betting platform, serving six search and seizure warrants in Recife, João Pessoa and São Paulo. According to G1, investigators say the sports betting platform moved more than R$ 5 billion in 2025 alone (roughly US$ 960 million) and suspect tax evasion, illegal currency remittances and money laundering.
No arrest warrants were issued. The operation is run by Gaeco, the MPF's organized crime unit, and involved 28 tax auditors, ten federal prosecutors, MPF police officers and forensic experts, according to Veja. In Recife, where the group is based, agents collected documents at the NSX office.
The scheme under investigation
At the heart of the probe is a shell company set up in Curaçao, in the Caribbean. In the investigators' reading, the move worked like a feint: on paper, the betting operation ran abroad before Brazil regulated the sector; in practice, Brazilian companies tied to the group ran everything at home. For those new to this game, a shell company is a firm that exists only in documents, with no real activity, used to hide who is actually behind a business.
The MPF and the Revenue Service are also looking into money sent abroad that allegedly returned to Brazil disguised as payments for services, a route that would justify the inflow of funds previously remitted out of the country. Another focus is the use of "pocket accounts", which pool funds from many clients in a single account held at fintechs and make the money harder to trace.
The suspicions go beyond the start of regulation, in January 2025. The agencies are checking whether the group declared allegedly fictitious expenses to cut its tax bill even in the regulated market, and whether the money used to pay the license fee to operate in Brazil came from activities predating the authorization. The Revenue Service opened 11 tax procedures and estimates it can recover about R$ 300 million in taxes.
The Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Finance Ministry is weighing measures against the group, which already faces two administrative proceedings. Penalties range from a warning to suspension of activities. In a statement, NSX Brasil said it gave "full cooperation to the action", argued it followed the legal framework in force before regulation and made the required adjustments afterward.
This is the second major joint operation by the Revenue Service and the MPF against betting companies, known in Brazil as "bets", in August. On the 13th, Operation Arena served 17 warrants in five states and obtained a court order to freeze assets worth up to R$ 1 billion.