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In December 2025, Brazil took a further step in its fight against illegal gambling by the approval of the Chamber of Deputies’ Communications Committee regarding Bill No. 4044/2025. The proposal puts the combat against clandestine betting back into the center of the national legislative agenda and represents an advance for a more assertive model of enforcement.
Presented by Congressman Delegado Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP), the legislation pack proposes a series of measures not only to financially but also technically and legally strangle unauthorized betting operators. Thus, it will strengthen the regulated ecosystem under the watchful eyes of SPA and guarantee licensed operators a more secure and stable environment in which to operate.
Importantly, the proposal does not affect the regulatory burden already imposed on licensed operators. It simply creates a hard dividing line that distinguishes the legal market from the illicit one by redefining the boundaries of law enforcement.
Clear Definition of Unauthorized Operators
In the text approved, “unauthorized operator” is defined as any entity, natural or legal person, that offers betting services without prior authorization from the Ministry of Finance. This categorization forms the basis of a panoply of enforcement instruments that go beyond the operators themselves.
Indeed, the bill allows authorities to punish illegal betting platforms together with promoting and assisting parties like intermediaries, promoters, payment facilitators, and other parties that contribute to the operation and/or visibility of unlicensed betting services. This provision of the law expands to dismantle the broader ecosystem of illegal betting.
Financial Controls Lying at the Heart of Enforcement
One of the main points of Bill 4044/2025 is the so-called focus on financial repression. Banks, fintechs, card issuers, sub-acquirers, and payment service providers should maintain filters that are capable of identifying transactions linked to criminal betting operations.
These institutions should also send monthly reports on preventive measures taken, transactions blocked, and the criteria for mitigation of risk regarding data protection and banking secrecy. Non-compliance with this has serious repercussions: fines can go as high as BRL 20 million, and in more serious cases, temporary suspension of payment services.
PIX, the instant payment system of Brazil, gets special attention. The Central Bank would be in charge of creating specific rules on how to prevent illegal betting platforms from using PIX through measures such as flagging suspicious keys, filters in CNAE based on risk profiles, and monitoring transactions linked with official watch lists.
Digital Enforcement and Website Blocking
The bill further extends to digital enforcement mechanisms. Internet service providers and telecom operators will have to agree to block domains that the authorities identify. These include IP blocking, DNS disruption, taking down mirror sites, and restrictions on VPN-based access.
Licensed operators would have to implement geolocation tools to block access from jurisdictions where betting is not authorized. The result is a clear operational divide between compliant companies and those seeking to operate outside the rule of law.
This would further include any service that indirectly supports illegal betting, such as marketing agencies, software developers, legal consultancies, and digital influencers, which would also be held liable should it be determined that they are enabling unauthorized operations. Only services strictly necessary for obtaining an official license would be exempt.
Why the New Framework Is Considered Urgent
After online betting was first regulated in Brazil, the market saw an extremely rapid growth in economic activity. At the same time, though, these economic figures fed into the exponential growth of illegal sites-mostly operating from jurisdictions where the level of legal cooperation was low.
These operators are often found to offer aggressive bonuses, evade taxes, and have no safeguards against fraud and money laundering, placing consumers at great risk. Lawmakers argue that in the absence of a more substantial legal framework, the regulated market would be undermined and consumers left unprotected.
Projected Impact and Committee Action
The new framework would evidently make operations uneconomic for illegal operators, thus reducing their numbers if it is enacted into law. This could further consolidate the licensed market and provide enhanced consumer protection, improving cooperation among regulators, financial institutions, and operators.
The bill must still pass through additional committees, including Finance and Constitution and Justice, before reaching the Chamber’s plenary and, eventually, the Senate. The main challenge ahead will be ensuring that the State has sufficient technical and operational capacity to enforce the new rules effectively, while maintaining a balance between strict enforcement and a competitive, attractive legal market.
Source: iGaming Brasil
