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André Gelfi, founder of the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável (IBJR), says that most of Brazil’s fixed-odds betting industry is still controlled by unlicensed platforms. During an interview with Poder360, Gelfi, who is now a board member and formerly general director of the IBJR from March 2023 to February 2025, provided some insight on the extent of illicit betting activities across the nation.
Given that the betting industry of Brazil just newly legislated, it is difficult to get accurate and official numbers on illegal activities. Gelfi believes, though, that a good portion of the business is still under informal control.
Illegal Operators Control the Majority of the Market
“Today we estimate that, regrettably, the majority of the market remains informal. The regulated market represents less than 50%, perhaps something around 40% of this market.”
Gelfi gave a rough estimate using past figures of what an illegal betting site might generate.
“It’s hard to get an exact picture because it’s a dynamic film; we’ve just started the regulated market. We have historical data, as I was saying, of BRL 25 billion (USD 4.338 billion). If you divide it by month, you get an average of just over BRL 2 billion (USD 347 million). 60% is informal. We can say that the informal market earns more than the regulated market, and probably a little over BRL 1 billion (USD 173 million).”
Regulatory Challenges and Financial Oversight
Gelfi underlined the main obstacle to creating in Brazil a sustainable betting industry: the difficulty of directing bettors to the official market. Under the Ministry of Finance, he hopes the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) will shortly present refreshed official figures on the industry.
Gelfi emphasized the need of managing economic transactions to reduce illegal betting behavior beyond forbidding unlawful websites and stopping unofficial operators from advertising.
Given that financial transaction control might be the most efficient way to stop illegal betting, Our major payment avenue in the industry is Pix. He said that should banks effectively track Pix transfers sender and receiver via which CNPJ, we could strally the black market.
Ordinance 566/2025: Stricter Measures Against Illegal Betting
In a move to further fight with illegal betting houses, the SPA passed on March 21, 2025, a new legislation preventing banks and payment companies from keeping accounts or processing unauthorised bets. The regulatory agency also started a reporting channel to gather data on transactions done on unsanctioned sites.
Financial institutions have to report dubious transactions under the new regulations within 24 hours of discovery report dubious transactions. They have to use the Electronic Information System (SEI) provided on the gov.br portal to turn in reports.
Reports shall be sorted under “Fixed-odds betting: communication of financial indications” with limited access to protect privacy.
Should the SPA find financial institutions supporting illegal transactions, it will tell them to reveal information about the transactions and forthwith cut ties with the customer in question.
The law also requires that betting sites in operation legally use the Bet.Br domain extension. Institutions found not following these rules will be subject to administrative fines and inspections.
A Step Towards Market Stability
In a bid to stabilize and expand the legal market, the Brazilian government and regulatory agencies are clamping down on illicit gambling enterprises. A more transparent industry will come about via strict enforcement and financial monitoring that will be essential in changing attitudes towards legal channels and guaranteeing fair competition.
Source: YogoNet
