Ghost games are matches advertised to have been played, with betting markets offered on the event, which actually did not take place.

The integrity of the football fixture, between Andraus Brasil and Gremio Serrano, is being investigated following £1.4m ($1.7m) in betting handle.

Reports suggest over 200 operators offered markets on the match, despite Gremio Serrano lawyer Lucas Bezerra claiming the club did not send a team to play the match.

Andraus lawyer Marlus Dalledone claims the game did take place.

A similar ‘ghost game’ case in Ukraine earlier this year saw BetGenius provide a statement on the matter to Gambling Insider.

The supplier said: "Midway through a series of Ukrainian football matches our integrity and intelligence network raised concerns about four fixtures.

"These games appeared to be scheduled and advertised via official sources as cup fixtures between professional clubs and we employed a local statistician to capture the data from those games.

"Unfortunately we, along with many of our sportsbook customers, were the victim of fraud."