SPA: Protecting operators from self-exclusion fraud
The online gambling industry in Brazil faces its first operational challenges following the implementation of new responsible gaming tools. In light of recent reports from operators about attempts to abuse the self-exclusion system, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has issued a strong clarification: there are no formal fraud complaints in the system, and the regulatory framework protects the validity of bets placed before the activation of the block.
The "Modus Operandi" detected by the sector
The controversy arose after alerts from several betting companies, who identified a suspicious behavior pattern in certain users. According to sources from the sector, the mechanism consisted of a coordinated strategy:
- The user registers on the Centralized Self-Exclusion Platform.
- Immediately, they place simultaneous bets on opposite outcomes at different bookmakers (hedging).
- After losses are confirmed, the user contacts technical support demanding a refund, arguing that their registration in the self-exclusion system should have prevented the transaction.
This attempt to exploit processing times to gain financial advantages ("freeroll") has caused concern, but the regulatory authority has been clear regarding the rules of the game.
The 72-hour rule: Security for the operator
To dispel doubts, the SPA has reminded the validity of Normative Instruction 31/2025. This regulation establishes a technical operational period: from the moment the user requests their exclusion on the government portal, operators have up to 72 hours to enforce the block in their systems.
In its official communication, the entity emphasizes a critical point for the legal security of bookmakers:
"If a bet is placed before the self-exclusion is enforced and there are no other relevant legal factors, it is understood that this bet will be valid, regardless of its outcome."
This means that any refund claim based solely on the self-exclusion request is inadmissible if the bet occurred within that technical three-day window. The full block and access prohibition come into effect only after the operator processes the request or once the maximum period has elapsed.
A system in high demand
Beyond the controversies, the figures reveal massive adoption of player protection tools. Since its launch on December 10, 2025, the platform developed by Serpro (Federal Data Processing Service) has processed 153,000 requests in its first 20 days.
The system, accessible through the government portal, allows users to block their access to all sites authorized by SPA-MF for periods ranging from one month to an indefinite block, establishing itself as the fundamental pillar of responsible gaming policy in the South American giant.
For now, the Betting Management System (Sigap) has no official reports of security failures, reaffirming the robustness of the digital infrastructure against attempts of malicious breaches.
Tags: Brazil, Brazil betting self-exclusion, Brazil self-exclusion portal