In an exclusive interview with G&M News, André Megale, Director of Integrity and Governance at the SIGA LATIN AMERICA, outlines the organisation’s strategic approach to safeguarding Sport Integrity across the rapidly evolving sports betting landscape, examines the regulatory and operational challenges in Brazil, and highlights the importance of coordinated action ahead of the FIFA World Cup. He also anticipates SIGA’s contribution to the upcoming interministerial discussions led by Brazil’s Ministry of Sport, aimed at strengthening the fight against match manipulation through enhanced legal and institutional frameworks.
Click to read the interview by Leticia Navarro, journalist at G&M News, in Portuguese.
What was SIGA’s level of representation at BiS SiGMA South America 2026?
SIGA’s presence at the event was highly significant. We viewed the gathering of stakeholders from the sports betting market as a single, comprehensive forum. We firmly believe that a regulated market can only thrive through harmonisation and open dialogue among stakeholders. The event brought together representatives from government, operators, and integrity bodies—among which SIGA plays a key role—both in Brazil and globally. In that sense, the event fully reflected what SIGA stands for: a platform bringing together relevant stakeholders to discuss and advance a regulated and sustainable market.
You participated as a speaker. What approach did you take, and how did the audience respond?
Our contribution took place within a panel alongside other integrity organisations, where we presented our respective activities and discussed the impact that the FIFA World Cup is expected to have on the sports betting market.
On that note, what is the role of SIGA—both globally and in Brazil—in protecting users and preventing match manipulation?
Brazil represents a challenging market, primarily because its regulatory framework is still recent. While legislation has existed for some time, its formal regulation has only recently been implemented. As such, it remains a relatively nascent market in terms of consolidating core principles. The Government has been actively engaging with stakeholders and introducing new regulatory measures on an ongoing basis, which adds a layer of complexity.
Regarding the FIFA World Cup, this was precisely the focus of our panel discussion. The tournament acts as a powerful amplifier. The industry will exercise heightened vigilance during this period, as any issue would be significantly magnified. However, from a match manipulation perspective, the World Cup itself is less exposed. Its high visibility makes it an unattractive target for manipulators, who tend to focus instead on lower-tier competitions, often non-televised, where oversight is weaker and the environment is more conducive to illicit activity. It is in these contexts that enforcement efforts must be intensified.
That said, the World Cup will place considerable operational demands on operators, given the expected volume of betting activity. From an integrity standpoint, however, the matches themselves present a lower risk of manipulation compared to less visible competitions.
G&M News also spoke with Vinicius Sousa and André Megale from SIGA LATIN AMERICA. A key meeting will soon take place in Brasília, organised by the Brazilian Government, where SIGA has been invited alongside other stakeholders. What can you share about this initiative?
The Ministry of Sport has been leading an interministerial working group, bringing together several government bodies to address match-fixing and related integrity threats. A new session of this initiative is scheduled to take place between 28 and 30 April.
SIGA intends to contribute by presenting ongoing and recently concluded studies on match manipulation, including its criminal classification under Brazilian law and in other relevant jurisdictions within the global betting market. We will also present comparative analyses aimed at identifying gaps and opportunities for strengthening Brazil’s legislative framework.
Could you elaborate on SIGA’s partnerships and future projects in Brazil?
SIGA’s core mission is to bring together stakeholders in pursuit of a common objective. Each market participant—whether government or operator—has its own priorities. However, integrity remains the central pillar, the foundational principle underpinning SIGA’s existence. It must be pursued in a transversal and equitable manner across all stakeholders. Ethics, in this context, is non-negotiable and must be applied consistently to all.
SIGA has established a wide range of partnerships, including with government authorities, operators, and media organisations such as G&M News, which plays an important role in dissemination and communication. These partnerships are essential to promoting the principles of integrity and ensuring that integrity is embedded not only in sports betting but across the entire Sport ecosystem.
SIGA operates on a global scale. It is a worldwide alliance committed to ensuring that integrity is upheld not only in football, basketball, or volleyball, but across all sports. Without integrity, Sport loses one of its most fundamental attributes: the unpredictability of results. If outcomes are no longer uncertain, Sport loses its value and its essence. This unpredictability can only exist where integrity is safeguarded. That is the principle guiding SIGA’s work and its partnerships in pursuit of the common good.
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ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world’s leading organisation for Sport Integrity. We are creating a whole new landscape for the sports industry by delivering independent global rating and certification for world Sport to ensure it is governed and operates under the highest integrity standards: The SIGA Universal Standards.
Funded by our Members, SIGA is a non for profit global independent organisation with one aim: To ensure the sport industry is governed under the highest integrity standards so that the values of sport are protected.
SIGA is the only organisation to bring together sport, governments, academia, international organisations, sponsors, business, rights holders, NGOs and professional services companies, from every region in the world, around a common cause of fostering greater integrity throughout sport.
SIGA is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a non for-profit association, and comprises of the following continental subsidiaries: SIGA AMERICA, SIGA EUROPE and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com and FAQs.
To contact SIGA, please email: comms@siga-sport.com.