The “negative list” includes the websites operated by betting houses that are not on the list authorized by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance.
2,040 suspicious domains were identified and sent to Anatel for access blocking throughout Brazil. The agency has already notified the telephone companies to take offline the irregular domains. In other words, only the websites that are on the Treasury Department's “positive list” will be allowed to operate nationwide in Brazil, until December.
However, the time it takes to implement the block will depend on the measures employed by the providers, according to their specificities. “Each company will take its technical measures and we will monitor to ensure that this block is carried out effectively and as quickly as possible,” explained the president of Anatel, Carlos Baigorri, last Thursday (10).
The most up-to-date “positive list” includes 96 companies with 210 bets respectively that are eligible to remain online until the end of this year.
According to the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, as of last Friday, the 2023 law effectively came into effect as it was approved by the National Congress. “Those who are not in compliance, or in the process of becoming regularized, will be taken offline”, stated the minister.
Companies authorized to operate until December will also be monitored, since they are in a “probationary period,” or testing phase, while they wait for all the documentation to be analyzed for the final authorization process.
The inspection includes compliance with other laws in force in Brazil, such as the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) and the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA). Companies that fail to comply with Brazilian legislation run the risk of not obtaining a license to operate, starting next year. This applies even to those that are currently authorized.
Next steps
By December, the Treasury must complete the process of final analysis of the first requests received, to verify which betting companies comply with all the provisions of the 2018 legislation (which allowed fixed-odds betting, in the sports betting modality) and the 2023 legislation (which regulated the operation of fixed-odds betting and included online games in this category), in addition to the more than 10 ordinances that regulate the activity.
Betting houses considered eligible will need to pay a R$30 million (US$ 5.3m) grant in 2024 to start operating on January 1, 2025, when the regulated betting market will begin in Brazil. The grants will generate revenue of up to R$3.4 billion (US$ 605m) for the government this year. However, this amount may be lower, as not all companies that requested regularization were approved.
In addition, companies will need to permanently comply with all rules to combat fraud, money laundering and abusive advertising, among others.
Companies that are not on the “positive list” but still want to operate in the market must submit the necessary documentation to obtain definitive authorization. The Treasury has 150 days to respond, and companies have another 30 days to pay the grant, totaling 180 days.
According to the Secretary of Prizes and Betting, Regis Dudena, Finance will be constantly monitoring the site to ensure that irregular sites do not return to Brazil. “This is a very important first step that will be further developed and will require ongoing action by both the SPA and other government agencies to protect, above all, bettors and the popular economy,” he said.
In the coming months, the Lula government will also define the possibility of preventing bets from being placed by beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program, as well as the possible banning of certain forms of payment. Issues related to the psychological dependence of bettors will also be discussed.
A survey by the Central Bank (BC) released on September 24 shows that at least five million Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent around R$3 billion (US$ 534m) on sports betting sites through Pix.
The use of credit cards as a means of payment for online bets and games has been prohibited since the beginning of October. The measure aims to prevent the population from becoming over-indebted.
And what about advertising?
Companies that are not on the Ministry of Finance's “positive list” are even prohibited from advertising, which includes , for example, sponsorship of football clubs.
“The positive list will be the benchmark for everything that is regular in Brazil, both for the offer of 'Bets' and for advertising. We are already seeing some moves by platforms, social networks and TV and broadcasting associations to ensure that advertising is restricted to regular companies”, highlighted Dudena.
TV stations, big techs (such as X, Instagram and Facebook) and news portals, newspapers and magazines are no longer advertising irregular websites in Brazil.
Source: Metrópoles
