The Executive of São Paulo awarded the state lottery contract to Aposta Vencedora, a consortium led by Portuguese investors from SAV Participações.
Aposta Vencedora secured the concession for the Loteria Paulista with a bid of R$600 million (€95 million), more than doubling the state’s initial target of R$260 million.
The bidding process for São Paulo’s state lottery was highly competitive. Aposta Vencedora narrowly defeated its auction rival, SP Loterias, which offered a final bid of R$526 million.
Under a 15-year contract, Aposta Vencedora will serve as the exclusive vendor of state draws, sports pools, and instant lotto games for Loteria Paulista, distributing these games throughout São Paulo via 31 exclusive units and 11,000 independent retailers.
The contract excludes unregulated gaming activities, including bingo, casino games, and Jogo do Bicho (instant win games), while the Senate and federal government review a legal framework for these areas.
The São Paulo state government aims to raise R$3.4 billion over the 15-year concession, directing these funds to healthcare investments.
The Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling granted Brazilian states autonomy over their lotteries, removing federal exclusivity and allowing each state to establish its own lottery system.
Alexandre Manoel da Silva, a former government official under Bolsonaro, leads SAV Participações alongside Portuguese gaming executive Fernando Eduardo Cabral Paes de Sousa Afonso, Guilherme Vilazante Castro, Isadora Vila Boas Leite, and Antônio Cesar Felix de Sousa, CEO of AX4B Computer Systems. The consortium has ties to São Paulo’s Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, a former minister in Bolsonaro’s administration.
São Paulo will monitor the concessionaire’s operations to ensure the quality of the betting system and customer support services, relying on evaluations from the public services register.
The organisers originally scheduled the Loteria Paulista tender for October 28, but postponed the auction following a Supreme Court ruling that affected cross-state advertising rights.