According to the Secretary of Prizes and Bets, Regis Dudena, regulation in Brazil is evolving, however, combating illegality is the main challenge.
In an interview with Exame, he also stated that with more than 100 days of regulation of sportsbooks, he sees an evolution. “After four years without rules for the sector, Brazil has achieved a well-made regulation that requires companies to comply with the rules,” said Dudena.
Since January, only sportsbooks authorized by the Ministry of Treasury can operate in Brazil, with specific rules, such as the use of the domain bet.br. Currently, 73 companies are authorized, totaling 162 legalized websites, in addition to another 8 companies that operate by court order, linked to 18 brands.
“We are on the right track, implementing effective controls. The work of inspecting, monitoring and punishing deviations will be continuous from now on,” he said.
Régis Dudena says SPA follows strategy against illegal websites
Despite this, the main challenge, according to Dudena, is to combat illegal websites. The secretary says that the strategy currently involves three fronts:
- Takedown of illegal domains,
- Restricting advertising on social networks
- Financial strangulation.
Dudena spoke about the high number of websites and the work of the department. “The first is the continuous removal of illegal domains. This is difficult and costly work, but necessary. We have already removed more than 11 thousand websites since the beginning of the year.”
As a way to raise awareness among the population about the risks of gambling, Dudena highlighted that the government plans to carry out advertising campaigns. One mechanism of the law provides that the Union can require companies to take actions in conjunction with the government, but public campaigns must also be carried out, according to the secretary.
“We want to clarify what a bet is, the difference between legal and illegal companies, and promote the protection of bettors’ mental health. We are working on this and will have news soon,” he highlighted.
Still on the subject of the ban on advertising by sportsbooks, the secretary says that a total ban on the sector could be negative for the population.
“Our concern with the ban on advertising is that, by completely banning it, the population will lose the criterion for identifying authorized companies. Advertising is one of the ways to distinguish legal companies,” he argued.