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The Brazilian Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA–MF) detected a growing tactic of illegal betting operators: the use of payment institutions (IPs) that are not yet required to obtain authorization from the Central Bank. These unregulated institutions are allowing unauthorized betting sites to process payments and remain in business despite successive domain seizures.
Regulatory Gaps and Oversight Challenges
According to Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets, the unlawful utilization of such payment providers has already been discovered and will be taken into account when these institutions seek complete approval from the Central Bank. Dudena stated, “These institutions are starting to realize that unlawful operation will impact their authorization requests. We have issued warnings, and in recurring cases, reports will be sent to the Federal Police.”
Payment institutions need to register with the Central Bank today only if they transfer over BRL 500 million over a 12-month period or have at least BRL 50 million in prepaid accounts. Anything less than that is still beyond direct regulation, a loophole exploited by unlawful betting providers.
Legal Betting Market Growth and Enforcement
Brazil’s fixed-odds betting industry has been legal for a little over six months. As of today, 78 companies are legally serving 17.7 million registered users across 182 platforms. During this period, SPA, in cooperation with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), has taken down 15,463 illegal betting sites and blocked bank accounts linked to unauthorized operations, closing 255 bettor accounts and 45 company accounts in the last six months alone.
Dudena emphasized the SPA’s proactive enforcement function: “We are demonstrating that the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets is also a regulator. It does not matter to institutions that they only respond to the Central Bank. If they are found to be funding illegal activity, it will be on their records.”
Brazil’s legal betting operators have reported robust financials for the first half of 2025. Collectively, the companies recorded BRL 17.4 billion in gross revenue. The industry tax take was BRL 3.8 billion, with an additional BRL 2.2 billion collected in licensing fees. The rapid growth of the regulated market speaks to both the demand for legal betting product as well as the need for enforcement against unlicensed operators.
Towards a More Secure Betting Environment
SPA–MF’s round-the-clock monitoring of payment institutions and illicit betting activity is one component of a broader effort to promote integrity and transparency in the gaming market in Brazil. By shutting down regulatory loopholes and by keeping financial intermediaries in line, the authorities aim to protect consumers and bolster the legitimacy of the lawful market.
As the sector continues to expand, regulators are increasingly focused on closing loopholes, tightening oversight, and bringing operators and financial partners into line with existing rules. The two-pronged approach targets sustaining the rapid expansion of legal betting while shrinking the room for illegal operations, toward a safer and more transparent gaming market in Brazil.
The collaboration between SPA, Anatel, and the Federal Police highlights the multi-agency commitment to defending the market and demonstrating that illegal operators cannot evade legal accountability.
With millions of consumers now interacting with licensed sites, Brazil’s legal betting market will certainly keep expanding at a fast rate, cementing consumer protection, and establishing a strong platform for long-term sustained growth.
Source: BNL Data
