Brazil has become the first Latin American country to sign the Council of Europe’s Macolin Convention, joining an international framework aimed at preventing and combating manipulation of sports competitions.
The signing took place at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg. Ricardo Neiva Tavares, Brazil’s ambassador to France and Monaco, signed the treaty on behalf of the Brazilian government in the presence of Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset.
Brazil becomes the 44th country to sign the Convention. According to the Council of Europe’s announcement, seventeen signatories have ratified it, while other non-European participants include Australia and Morocco.
The Macolin Convention is the only legally binding international instrument specifically focused on manipulation of sports competitions, including cases connected with betting.
Brazil’s participation carries added relevance because of the scale of its betting market and the government’s continuing efforts to address sports-related fraud.
Convention Expands Cross-Border Cooperation
The treaty establishes a framework for cooperation involving governments, public authorities, sports organisations, competition organisers and betting operators.
Its measures cover the exchange of information between countries and monitoring of suspicious activity connected with sports betting.
The Convention also provides for national coordination mechanisms intended to help authorities identify possible manipulation and respond more effectively when suspicious activity crosses borders.
Each participating state is expected to establish a national platform that centralises information and helps coordinate communication among the organisations involved.
“Brazil is taking an important step in protecting the integrity of sports,” said Brazil’s National Secretary of Sports Betting Giovanni Rocco. “We have already made progress with the creation of the National Policy for the Prevention and Combat of Match-Fixing in Sports.
“Now, with the signing of the Macolin Convention, we are expanding the possibilities for international cooperation. This work strengthens the fight against fraud and helps protect athletes, clubs and fans.”
The treaty also addresses the need to monitor betting patterns that may indicate manipulation and to strengthen prevention and accountability procedures.
Brazil Builds on Domestic Integrity Measures
Brazil’s Ministry of Sport has been working toward accession since 2025.
The National Secretariat for Sports Betting presented a technical position supporting participation in the Convention that year, and the government formally announced its intention to join in September 2025 after a joint assessment by relevant ministries.
The process involved the Ministries of Sport, Finance and Justice, along with technical and legal support during negotiations.
Brazil also created the National Policy for the Prevention and Confrontation of Manipulation of Sports Results, known as PNPEMR, in March 2026.
The policy is coordinated by the Ministry of Sport and was developed with the Ministries of Finance and Justice, with participation from the Federal Police.
Its guidelines cover regulation, prevention, monitoring, inspection and enforcement related to manipulation of sporting results.
The Macolin Convention adds an international cooperation layer to those domestic measures by providing channels for information exchange and coordinated action with authorities in other countries.
The treaty was opened for signature in 2014 in Macolin, Switzerland, and entered into force in September 2019.
Ratification Still Required
Brazil’s signature does not yet make the country a full State Party to the Convention.
The treaty must first go through Brazil’s internal approval process, including consideration by the National Congress.
After congressional approval, Brazil will need to complete the formal ratification procedure required for international treaties.
Until those steps are completed, the country remains a signatory rather than a fully ratified participant.
Brazil has previously joined three other Council of Europe treaties: the Convention on Cybercrime, the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
The Macolin Convention now extends that cooperation into sports integrity.
The signing also reflects the recognition that match-fixing can involve cross-border networks, betting activity and coordinated financial interests that cannot always be addressed through domestic enforcement alone.