The government is preparing measures to prevent people from overdoing sports betting and online gaming. The Ministry of Finance must complete the definition of rules for operators within the next 15 days.
These standards will come into effect in January 2025.
Education for those who place bets online
Until the end of the year, companies will have a deadline to regularize themselves in Brazil. The government will identify sites approved by the ‘bet.br’ domain.
Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA) at the Ministry of Finance, emphasized the importance of education for bettors.
“We really want to invest in education so that bettors understand that their correct place is in the authorized house. That is where they will, in fact, have a chance in online betting, to have fun in a responsible way and without putting their mental health and financial situation at stake”, said Dudena in an interview with TV Globo.
Last year’s law dealing with betting also provides for the regulation of betting in online casinos. Each platform must monitor bettors’ behavior and identify whether the person’s profile is compatible.
“Once you see an evolution [in the values or quantities of bets] that is incompatible with your income profile and your own activity, then the operator himself will be obliged to make some kind of warning at the first moment. Eventually, when necessary, [make] blockades”, explained the secretary.
This way, the government will not previously establish any specific behavior to generate warning or blocking. This will depend on each bettor and the number of operations carried out in a few hours, or on the abnormal increase in the amounts bet.
Partnership with SUS
The Prizes and Bets Secretariat is coordinating a plan with the Ministry of Health to establish preventive and treatment actions through the Unified Health System (SUS).
Therefore, platforms will have to offer a button for bettors to automatically exclude themselves from registrations.
The objective is to create a quick way out for anyone who identifies betting addictions. In addition, there will be an electronic channel for compulsive gamblers to seek help from a website representative.
The regularization of online betting games will depend on the following criteria:
- Companies qualified to provide certification will carry out an investigation
- Check that the game is fair and random
- Prove that the game is a fixed odds bet, where the bettor knows how much he will win depending on the amount bet and the result
- Prove that the game is a fixed odds bet, where the bettor knows how much he will win depending on the amount bet and the result
The government has already started approving betting platforms that want to regularize and expects this to intensify in the second half of the year.
“Once you are on ‘bet.br’, you can be sure that it is an authorized company and that you will be able to appeal, be it the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, against this agent, if he violates legislation and regulations specific, or legislation from other sectors”, concluded Dudena.
Therefore, from January 2025, there will be operations to take down sites that do not regularize. The idea is that, in partnership with the Central Bank, the agency can block the transfer of money from irregular operators.