Brazil puts banks and technology platforms at centre of betting crackdown

Brazil’s government is creating a broad enforcement regime against illegal betting that will place new responsibilities on banks, payment institutions, telecommunications companies, app stores and internet platforms after the country’s licensed market closes.

Provisional Measure No. 1,394 prohibits fixed-odds betting throughout Brazil, including services offered from abroad to people located in the country.

Licensed websites and applications must become inaccessible from 6 October, after which any continued offering of fixed-odds betting to people in Brazil will be prohibited.

The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Justice and Public Security will be able to request the blocking or redirection of illegal betting websites.

Anatel will receive and distribute blocking orders to telecommunications providers and other internet-access intermediaries. The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, CGI.br, will be responsible for measures involving names registered under the “.br” domain.

App stores and operating-system providers must prevent prohibited betting applications from being made available and remove them when directed by the authorities.

Internet platforms must also take steps to prevent prohibited betting advertising from circulating and remove infringing third-party content after notification.

Financial institutions will form another central part of the enforcement system. Except for transactions required to wind down licensed operations and return customer funds, banks, payment institutions and payment-system participants will be prohibited from processing or facilitating fixed-odds betting transactions.

The Central Bank must establish a data-sharing system allowing financial institutions to identify and reject transactions associated with illegal betting and return funds to their source.

Finance Minister Dario Durigan said the regulated market comprises 85 authorised operators and around 180 betting brands. Any operators remaining online after the deadline will face website blocking, financial tracing and measures against funds connected with illegal activity.

Durigan said the government had already blocked more than 60,000 betting pages since 2024. Existing enforcement work involves the ministries of Finance and Justice, the Federal Revenue Service, Federal Police and Anatel, using systems intended to identify illegal websites and trace the payment channels supporting them.

The measure also creates the Interinstitutional Committee for the Supervision of Illegal Fixed-Odds Betting Operations and Advertising. Coordinated by the Civil House, it will bring together the relevant authorities to coordinate prevention, supervision and enforcement.

Operators that breach their transition obligations will remain subject to sanctions under Law 14,790, including fines of up to R$2bn per violation. Failure to provide the funds and information required for customer repayments may also result in a daily fine of R$200,000.

Separate sanctions apply to internet platforms, app stores and operating-system providers. These include warnings and fines of up to 10% of Brazilian turnover, capped at R$50m for each violation. Repeated breaches may result in the suspension or prohibition of activities in Brazil.

The government has also submitted a separate bill creating criminal offences connected with fixed-odds betting.

Operating or exploiting fixed-odds betting, including from outside Brazil, would carry a proposed prison term of four to six years.

Advertising betting, recruiting bettors, using personal information to recruit customers, facilitating betting-related transactions and providing internet applications for betting would carry proposed sentences of two to four years, in addition to fines.

The government’s challenge will now be to prevent bettors from moving to illegal operators once the licensed market disappears. The new enforcement structure therefore puts financial institutions, telecommunications companies and technology platforms at the centre of efforts to prevent prohibited betting from continuing through offshore platforms.