In order to curb the illegal betting market, the Federal Government has blocked 11,000 illegal websites. Now, it has defined rules to require banks and financial institutions to send notifications about accounts suspected of operating outside the industry’s rules.
Since the publication of the ordinance on March 20, the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) has received 9 notifications of suspicious accounts or irregular movements. In light of this, 32 accounts were blocked following the alerts.
Since October 2024, only companies authorized by the government can operate in Brazil. There are currently 159 websites in the sector, and all of them have been determined to end with .bet.br.
According to Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Treasury, “it is a necessary effort, but not sufficient”
Ordinance requires banks to report suspicious transactions
The law regulating betting houses in Brazil already prevented banks from operating accounts of illegal companies. In March of this year, however, the government issued an ordinance requiring financial institutions to notify the ministry if there is any suspicion of an account, whether belonging to an individual or a legal entity.
According to Dudena, with the ordinance, financial and payment institutions now tend to reinforce supervision.
Banks, fintechs and other financial and payment institutions must report to the SPA, within 24 hours, any suspicion of account use for illegal betting.
The communication must include the account holder’s details, transaction information and measures taken, such as blocking or closing accounts. “The idea is to stop illegality from all sides to protect the popular economy,” said Dudena.
In addition, the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) is also carrying out tests to pass on information to the secretariat. Around 10,000 illegal betting sites have already been identified.
Institutions that fail to comply with the ordinance may be punished with warnings, fines of up to R$2 billion and be banned from participating in public tenders.
Legal bookmakers protect the bettor
Régis Dudena stated that the active participation of banks and other financial and payment institutions in identifying accounts associated with illegal bookmakers is not intended to punish bettors, but to protect them. This is because, according to him, it is still not clear to the population that online betting is only for fun.
Estimates from the Central Bank indicate that Brazilians spend between R$20 and R$30 billion per month on online gambling. The information was released by the president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, and by the executive secretary of the agency, Rogério Lucca, on April 8, during a hearing at the Senate’s Bets CPI.
Thus, the CPI was established at the end of 2024 to investigate the “influence of online virtual gambling games on the budget of Brazilian families”, in addition to the possible association with criminal organizations in money laundering practices.
Sector drives the Brazilian economy
The fixed-odds betting sector has already generated around R$2 billion in grants to the government, according to Dudena. In addition, each authorization costs R$30 million and allows up to three brands to operate.
