In the view of the president of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), Carlos Baigorri, the regulation of betting in Brazil is still in its early stages and remains far from the ideal of institutionalization. During the international seminar of the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) held in Madrid this Tuesday (6), Baigorri highlighted the weaknesses that exist in the sector.
According to Baigorri, the governance model in the betting sector lacks the structure seen in segments such as the electricity or telecommunications sectors. He emphasized: “The governance model for regulating the betting business is still very poorly institutionalized.
You think that the electricity and telecommunications sectors have an agency, civil servants with a career, a collegiate body, a regulatory impact process, public consultation. The betting sector does not. [The sector] has a secretariat in the Ministry of Finance that decides in a monocratic manner, by ordinance.”
Carlos Baigorri explained that the betting sector does not have the same solid regulatory base as other areas. Thus, he pointed out that the existence of only one secretariat in the Ministry of Treasury, responsible for making decisions unilaterally, limits the institutional development of the segment.
As a result, regulation is carried out through executive orders, often published in a rush to correct irregularities. Furthermore, these measures do not usually undergo public debate or regulatory impact analyses, further reducing institutional participation and transparency in the sector.
Anatel and the Prizes and Bets Secretariat
When asked about actions in the face of irregular operations, Baigorri detailed the procedure between the responsible bodies: “When the Prizes and Betting Secretariat identifies illegal betting operators, they notify us [Anatel] and we take them [illegal betting operators] offline”.
As a result, Anatel’s role is limited to implementing measures after irregularities are identified by the Ministry of Finance. Unlike other regulated fields, the betting sector remains without an autonomous agency or specialized servers that can ensure continuous and broader oversight.
According to Baigorri, the institutionalization of gambling regulation still faces considerable challenges. The president of ANATEL believes that progress depends on a more structured model, with clear processes and greater public participation.
