Bureaucracy freezes R$280M, halts iGaming's social impact
The success of the regulation of the betting market in Brazil faces an unexpected obstacle, not in revenue collection, but in execution. One year after the regulatory framework came into effect, the main sports entities in the country, legal beneficiaries of a portion of the gross gaming revenue (GGR), keep approximately R$ 280 million (approx. USD 48 million) frozen in bank accounts.
The situation reveals an administrative disconnect: while the iGaming sector injects capital month after month, the receiving organizations — such as the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Paralympic Committee (CPB) — fear using it without a state "roadmap" which, according to the regulator, is not necessary.
The dilemma of the nonexistent "Portaria"
The core of the conflict is interpretative. The sports entities, accustomed to strict oversight of public money, have chosen not to spend a single cent of the 2025 transfers. They argue that a specific ordinance (portaria) from the Ministry of Finance is missing to dictate the rules for use, accountability, and final destination of the funds.
However, the position of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) is diametrically opposed. Based on article 30 of Law 13.756/18 and current regulations, the SPA maintains that these resources are direct transfers from private entities (the operators) to the entities.
In summary: it is not public money, and therefore does not require the complex state oversight bureaucracy nor new regulation. The law allows its free use, but fear of future audits by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has paralyzed sports leaders.
Caution vs. Necessity
The impact of this stalemate is tangible. Those millions could already be funding athlete preparation, infrastructure, and competitions.
- Marcelo Vido, operations director of the COB, has been clear in his conservative stance: "We await federal government regulation that defines the nature and form of use. Meanwhile, we are in dialogue to seek efficient use". The COB received R$ 95.5 million in 2025, all immobilized.
- The CPB, for its part, retains R$ 57 million under the same premise of "regulatory maturation," according to its legal director, Paulo Losinskas.
This stance is mirrored in the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) and the university and school sports confederations.
The problem of the "Black Box": Lack of transparency in payments
Beyond the frozen money, there is a latent concern that directly affects market transparency: the auditability of revenues.
The sports entities denounce that they operate blindly. Without access to the operators’ fiscal data (protected by tax secrecy), the committees have no way to verify if the percentage they receive actually corresponds to the real GGR of the betting houses. They depend entirely on the good faith of the companies’ declarations.
COB data raise a red flag about compliance: of the 81 companies currently licensed, only 70 have made the corresponding transfers. There are 11 operators who, despite being active, have not made payments, an irregularity that the current system has not been able to automatically resolve because the transfers are made directly without passing through the Treasury’s coffers.
Next steps
To unlock the funds, sports leaders seek a political solution through the newly created National Council of Sports Committees (CNCE), requesting meetings with the SPA and the Ministry of Sport.
For the iGaming industry, resolving this conflict is vital. That the gambling money effectively reaches the athletes is the best possible public relations campaign; as long as it remains frozen in a bank, the "social dividend" of the regulation will remain an unfulfilled promise.
Tags: Brasil, society betting contributions, sports betting contributions, Brazil Olympic Committee, Paralympic Committee