Brazil, Anatel, ANJL to strengthen tech barrier vs. illegal platforms
The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, Anatel, and the ANJL announced that they will join efforts to improve the blocking mechanisms of illegal platforms operating in the digital gaming and betting ecosystem. The initiative aims to coordinate technical, legal, and operational criteria to hinder access to unauthorized sites and applications that attract users without complying with regulatory requirements. In a market undergoing regulatory consolidation, controlling access, advertising, and payments is a cornerstone for channeling users toward licensed operators. The collaboration seeks to increase the effectiveness of service interruption measures, minimize the appearance of mirror sites, and strengthen consumer protection.
According to the information released, the three entities will work together to improve the blocking of illegal platforms, combining sector supervision capabilities, network governance, and representation of the formal industry. Anatel’s participation is key to enabling coordinated actions with connectivity providers and digital infrastructure services, while the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets coordinates the regulatory and compliance front. The ANJL, for its part, channels the voice of operators and lotteries that meet compliance standards, providing market information and behavioral patterns of unauthorized sites. No figures or deadlines were detailed, but the goal is to standardize procedures and strengthen the response to new evasion methods.
The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets operates as a specialized authority in the economic sphere, focusing on licensing, integrity, and responsible gaming control in Brazil. Anatel, as the telecommunications regulator, has the authority to coordinate with ISPs, domain registrars, and other links in the connectivity chain—essential aspects for actions such as DNS or IP blocking and the removal of apps from official stores when appropriate. The ANJL, National Association of Games and Lotteries, groups companies in the segment that promote formality, transparency, and fair competition, and has driven self-regulation standards and best advertising practices. The convergence of these three fronts allows combining market intelligence from operators with the technical and regulatory tools of the State.
The Brazilian context is marked by a progressive regulation process of online gaming and fixed-odds betting, with new requirements for integrity, fraud prevention, and AML/CFT, as well as restrictions on advertising and technological localization obligations. Within this framework, digital enforcement measures—domain blocking, de-indexing, payment gateway interruption, and app removal—are considered decisive to increase channeling toward authorized offers. Meanwhile, other Latin American jurisdictions, such as Colombia or various Argentine provinces, have applied whitelists and agreements with ISPs to prevent access to unauthorized sites, offering operational references for Brazil. Interinstitutional coordination, when including the telecommunications regulator, tends to accelerate responses to the proliferation of mirror sites and new URLs.
For the iGaming sector, strengthening blocking has direct implications for competition, user acquisition, and compliance costs. Licensed operators could benefit from a more predictable environment and increased channeling, while affiliates and media will need to adjust their traffic and advertising policies to responsible advertising guidelines and lead traceability. On the technical level, collaboration facilitates standardized reporting mechanisms, intelligence sharing on evasion patterns, and synchronization of measures with payment processors and hosting and CDN providers. Likewise, enforcement reinforcement reduces incentives for regulatory arbitrage, favoring convergence toward safe and controlled gaming models.
Looking ahead, the joint work of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, Anatel, and the ANJL is expected to result in clear action protocols, effectiveness metrics, and agile channels to report and deactivate new illegal platforms. This type of coordination may also lead to technical guides for ISPs, app marketplaces, and advertisers, along with consumer education campaigns about the risks of operating outside the authorized circuit. International experience suggests that sustained blocking, combined with advertising and financial deterrence measures, increases control effectiveness and discourages recurrence. Monitoring results and updating technological tools will be decisive to consolidate a formal market, with greater user protection and better conditions for operators who comply with regulations.
Tags: Brasil, Anatel, ANJL, illegal platforms Brazil, platform blocking in Brazil