Brazil has already blocked over 60,000 illegal betting sites
The Brazilian government reinforced its strategy against illegal betting platforms and announced new measures to block their financial resources during a public hearing held on August 11 in the Chamber of Deputies, where the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance reported that more than 60,000 illegal sites have already been blocked in the country. The presentation was made before the external commission tasked with discussing acts of piracy and the agenda known as Brasil Legal, in an instance specifically dedicated to the impacts of piracy on the online betting market.
The Undersecretary of Monitoring and Supervision of the Secretariat, Carlos Renato Xavier de Resende, explained that the control of platforms began manually in January 2025 and that since October of the same year, blocking became automated, although he warned about the difficulty of completely eliminating the unauthorized market, noting that an illegal market has never been eliminated anywhere in the world. In addition to blocking domains, the ministry seeks to target the resources used by illegal platforms and their financial facilitators, based on recent legislation against organized crime, which incorporated mechanisms to prevent these operations from being used for money laundering.
The secretariat also announced measures to block funds from illegal companies and establish compensation mechanisms for victims of fraud, so that, once funds are blocked, affected consumers can come forward and demonstrate that part of that money belongs to them to request its return. If the company fails to prove the legal origin of the funds at the end of the process, these funds may be allocated to the Brazilian State and then to the National Public Security Fund. The strategy aims to expand the fight beyond site blocking and reach the financial circuits that allow platforms to continue operating.
The hearing also provided insight into the recommendations of the Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da União), whose Secretary of External Control of Governance, Wesley Vaz, advocated for coordinated action among the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal), the national telecommunications agency, and the Federal Police. These recommendations are part of an agreement unanimously approved by the court's plenary in May, focusing on public controls to prevent money laundering associated with illegal betting, with points such as better coordination among agencies, greater automation of detection, information exchange, and more active monitoring, summarized in three fronts: better blocking of domains, disruption of financial flows, and sanctioning of illegal operators and those who facilitate their activity. Vaz clarified that the conclusions constitute recommendations and not mandatory determinations, and mentioned measures already adopted, such as a Central Bank resolution that incorporated indications of acting as an unauthorized operator into anti-fraud exchange mechanisms, an ordinance that established joint tax liability for financial and payment institutions that contribute to irregular exploitation, and a decree that provided for the blocking of identified amounts within up to 24 hours, although he noted that their effectiveness has not yet been officially evaluated.
Tags: Awards and Betting Secretariat, Illegal betting blockade in Brazil, Federal Court of Accounts, Carlos Renato Xavier de Resende