Mato Grosso do Sul has relaunched the tender for operating its state lottery, Lotesul, months after the first process was frozen amid accusations of bid-rigging and pressure from the State Audit Court (TCE-MS). The new notice keeps the estimated contract value at R$51.4 million, equivalent to the state’s projected annual gross revenue from the service.
For Brasília-watchers and lottery insiders, the key change is in the financial model. The revised edital lowers the minimum gross revenue share due to the state from 16.17% to 14.33%, while keeping the offered percentage as a main ranking criterion. The government argues that, even with the lower floor, the objective remains to maximise public revenue and channel funds into social programmes, using Lotesul as an additional fiscal lever in the post-regulation era of Brazilian betting.
The tender seeks a specialised private operator to deploy and manage the technological platform that will control all Lotesul activities, from instant games to digital channels. The winning company will be responsible for system updates, customisation and compliance, and must hand over the source code and all data to the state at the end of the contract, reinforcing public ownership of the platform. Proposal submissions are scheduled for 15 December in Campo Grande.
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The reboot comes after a turbulent first round. The original March edital was suspended and later annulled, following TCE-MS findings of disproportionate clauses, weak technical studies and subjective evaluation criteria that could restrict competition. Complaints filed by market players alleged clear signs of bid-rigging in a contract that could last up to 35 years, with projected turnover of R$51.4 million per year.
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In response, the state Finance Secretariat (Sefaz-MS) reviewed its preliminary technical study and terms of reference, addressed the court’s recommendations and requested that the original case be closed, paving the way for this second attempt.
For readers who closely track Brazil’s lottery and betting landscape, Lotesul is now a test case: can a state-run lottery, revived under the Supreme Court’s green light for subnational lotteries, be structured in a way that reassures audit courts, attracts serious tech players and still delivers the public revenue that governors are counting on?
