The Minister of Treasury, Fernando Haddad, announced that between 500 and 600 fixed-odd betting websites, known as “bets”, will be banned in the coming days if they do not regularize themselves at the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA). The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) will be responsible for blocking access to these platforms in Brazil, in accordance with current legislation.
In an interview with CBN Radio, Haddad stated that operators must take down the sites from October 11th. He also highlighted that bettors who have money blocked on these platforms have the right to request a refund. “If you have any money on these betting sites, ask for a refund now, because you have the right to have your money refunded”, explained the minister.
Deadline for regularization of betting sites
Companies that operated in the country when the “Bets Law” came into force, in December 2023, have until this Tuesday, October 1st, to regularize themselves and obtain authorization to operate under the “bet.br” seal.
After this date, the platforms will not be able to operate in the country. From January 1, 2025, only authorized companies will be allowed to operate in the market. To date, 149 companies have requested authorization from the Betting Management System (Sigap) to operate as bets in the country in 2025.
The economic team estimates that it will raise up to R$3.4 billion this year with the payment of grants, each costing R$30 million. However, the amount raised may be lower as not all companies that submitted applications will receive approval.
Government Measures
The federal government’s first measure will be to ban unregulated betting from the Brazilian space. The Minister of Treasury said: “There are around 500 and 600 betting websites that will go offline in the next few days, because Anatel will block access to these sites in the Brazilian space.”
