The Ministry of Treasury, led by Fernando Haddad, began an offensive against online betting websites that operate irregularly in Brazil, many of them with domains abroad.
In partnership with the Central Bank, the department seeks to monitor and block financial flows involving these platforms. The strategy aims to strengthen control over the betting sector, which has grown rapidly in the country.
The Prizes and Betting Secretary, Regis Dudena, highlighted that the Central Bank’s support to the Ministry of Finance is crucial to the success of this operation.
“The law stipulates that companies in the financial system cannot provide services to unauthorized betting houses. Therefore, we will also have a mechanism to seek to block this financial flow”, stated Dudena.
This measure, according to Dudena, should come into force from January next year.
Regulation and granting of authorizations
While the government advances in this control, the Prizes and Betting Secretariat is analyzing 113 authorization requests from 108 companies interested in operating in Brazil. The expectation is to complete this process by the end of the year.
For Dudena, a positive list of authorized companies will make it easier to identify illegal ones: “When I have a positive list, it’s easy for me to create a negative list. In other words, let’s suppose that of these 108 groups we reach a few dozen authorized ones, 80. I have 80 names. Any betting site that is not one of these 80 is illegal, prohibited”, explained the secretary.
Furthermore, a requirement was established by the Ministry of Finance that legalized platforms use the “bet.br” domain, facilitating the identification of companies that operate within the law.
This movement is part of a broader government strategy to organize the sector and ensure that betting houses respect Brazilian legislation.
Treasury launches ordinance with deadline for regularizing bets
Another important step was taken with the publication of the ordinance by the government, which defined a deadline for fixed-odd betting companies that have not yet started their regularization.
The deadline ends on October 1st, and platforms that do not comply with this requirement will have their websites blocked and their applications removed. Companies will have an additional period of time until October 10th to withdraw bettors’ deposits, avoiding losses to users.
From October 11th, the blocking of irregular websites will begin to be requested. Even though the authorization process is still ongoing for some companies, this measure will be taken.
“The ordinance is a sign that, to operate in Brazil, bookmakers will have to comply with the rules”, highlighted the secretary.
Dudena stressed that companies that have already requested authorization will be able to continue operating during the transition period, as long as they follow the legislation.
Payment methods and combating fraud
One of the government’s concerns is also with the payment methods used by betting platforms. A previously published ordinance prohibited the use of credit cards for payments in electronic sports betting.
However, this rule will only come into force in 2025. Although the president of Febraban, Isaac Sidney, requested that this measure be brought forward, secretary Regis Dudena stated otherwise.
According to him, the biggest problems identified so far are not related to payment methods, but rather to fraud operated by criminal groups.
“Credit cards are already prohibited by regulations. The most problematic cases that come to us are normally not associated with betting companies. These are the cases that I have been dealing with, which are exploitations of betting houses, of betting activity by criminal groups, by fraud groups”, explained Dudena.
