Brazil coordinates with regulators to strengthen responsible gambling
Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) and the National Secretariat for Digital Rights (Sedigi) formalized a Technical Cooperation Agreement, marking a structural shift in the oversight of the online gambling market. The agreement, signed during the I Seminar on Betting Consumer Protection and Responsible Gambling held on June 16 in Brasília, establishes a permanent channel for institutional communication between departments of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice and Security. The initiative represents official recognition that player protection requires intersectoral coordination that transcends traditional gambling regulatory jurisdictions.
Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) No. 28/2026 has a two-year duration and outlines an ambitious agenda for joint work. Key areas include responsible advertising analysis, platform transparency, consumer protection mechanisms, and risk classification associated with problematic gambling and betting. Both organizations commit to conducting shared research, seminars, courses, and technical events aimed at strengthening public policies. Additionally, SPA and Sedigi will coordinate education and awareness campaigns designed to inform the public about risks, user rights, and available protection tools in the regulated market.
A critical component of the agreement is the exchange of information and data for analysis and studies, strictly adhering to confidentiality and personal data protection standards. Under this framework, SPA will provide information on the regulated betting market and its supervisory activities, while Sedigi will contribute technical expertise in digital rights. This information flow facilitates the early identification of potentially abusive practices, manipulation patterns, and vulnerabilities in player protection systems. The ability to cross-reference data from regulated operators with digital rights information allows for the detection of problems that might go unnoticed in isolated sectoral supervision.
The agreement addresses specific challenges that Brazilian regulators identified during the initial phase of the regulated market's operation. Although SPA has successfully overseen operator authorization and tax collection, the complexity of digital platforms demands capabilities that no single gambling regulatory body possesses comprehensively. Sedigi brings expertise in digital consumer protection, data compliance, identification of manipulative advertising, and assessment of risks inherent in online services. The coordination between both secretariats closes gaps that could allow predatory practices.
For operators and the Latin American industry in general, the Brazil agreement sets an important precedent on how governments can articulate sectoral supervision with broader digital protection. The model of inter-institutional cooperation formalized in ACT No. 28/2026 offers a template that other Latin American jurisdictions could adapt. The emphasis on awareness campaigns, advertising analysis, platform transparency, and consumer protection reflects the evolution of regional regulatory thinking: responsible gambling is not the exclusive responsibility of supervised operators, but a public policy challenge that requires permanent coordination among multiple institutional actors.
Tags: Brazil, consumer protection, responsible gaming Brazil, iGaming regulation, institutional cooperation