Legislation
Government rolls out further regulations for online betting systems
By James - 6 May 2024
The Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has issued a new ordinance outlining the technical and security requirements for betting systems, sports betting, and online gaming platforms. The ordinance, published in the Official Gazette, mandates that operators establish betting services and store corresponding data centres in Brazil. Operators are required to use electronic channels with the domain registration ‘bet.br’ to help users differentiate between licensed and illegal betting platforms. Additionally, all bets must be certified by authorized laboratories, and operators must submit information regarding bettors, wallets, and bets to the SPA for monitoring.
Chapter one establishes the technical and security requirements for betting systems, sports betting platforms, and online gaming platforms, to be used by operators.
Chapter two specifies that betting systems must meet technical requirements, including data storage in Brazilian data centres, conditions for international data transfer, access to data for regulatory bodies, data replication, and the use of specific domain names for online betting channels. Electronic channels used by operators to offer fixed-odds betting lottery services online must have a “bet.br” domain.
According to chapter three operators must have their betting systems, including sports betting and online gaming platforms, certified by a certifying entity recognized for operational capacity by the SPA. Operators of betting systems, including sports betting and online gaming platforms, must obtain certification from recognized entities approved by the Ministry of Finance which will need to be renewed annually. Certificates should be specific to Brazil and operators must submit evaluation reports for certification within ninety days of authorization, and these reports must also be renewed annually.
Chapter four covers the supervision and monitoring of betting systems, sports betting, and online gaming platforms which are governed by specific regulations issued by the SPA. Operators must grant full access to their systems for inspection by authorized entities and operators will be required to submit data on bets, bettors, as per government guidelines. The SPA may request additional information as needed.
Chapter five covers land based betting terminals. Betting terminals must be connected and integrated with the operator’s system, meeting technical requirements. Bets made on terminals require identification procedures and compliance with all rules for online betting, including payment transactions, specified in regulations by the Ministry of Finance.
Chapter six covers final provisions regarding online games and the use of random number generators. The final chapter – chapter seven states that specific regulations from the SPA will dictate the penalties that operators may face in the event of non compliance and states that the technical requirements for live game studios and online games will also be followed up later in detailed regulations.
