Ordinance 615 of the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance establishes the general rules for payment transactions in sports betting and online gambling. The document defines terms such as open bets, registered accounts, graphic account, transactional account, and online gaming session.
Financial transactions must be made electronically between bettors' registered accounts and operators' transactional accounts, excluding cash and other forms of payment, such as credit cards and crypto assets.
To guarantee the payment of prizes to bettors, the Ordinance determines that the operator must maintain a financial reserve as a preventive measure in the event of insolvency or illiquidity, designed to guarantee the payment of prizes and other amounts owed to bettors, in the minimum value of R $5 million (US$ 1m).
If this reserve is used, in whole or part of it, the operator is obliged to replace the amount within a maximum period of two business days.
All financial contributions and withdrawals must be made via electronic transfer between registered and transactional accounts, prohibiting the use of cash, bills, checks, credit cards and crypto assets, among others. Payments or transfers from an account that has not previously been registered by the bettor are prohibited.
Transactional accounts must be owned by the operator and maintained in a financial or payment institution authorized by the Central Bank, with asset segregation and prohibition on the use of bettors' resources for the agent's operational expenses.
Payment of prizes must be made via electronic transfer to bank accounts previously registered by bettors. Operators must manage liquidity, establishing exposure limits, contingency plans and minimum financial reserves.
The Ordinance prohibits the action of institutions not authorized to operate by the Central Bank as intermediaries in payment transactions between the bettor and the operator, including through collection agents or payment managers.
Furthermore, it is prohibited to place bets without prior settlement of the electronic transfer of financial contribution, as well as the granting of an advance, anticipation, bonus or prior advantage, even if for the mere purpose of promotion, publicity or advertising, for the carrying out of bets.
The operator may not enter into a partnership, agreement, contract or any other form of arrangement or business adjustment to enable or facilitate access to credit or commercial development operations by bettors.
All prizes determined by the operator must be paid to bettors within a maximum period of up to 120 minutes from the end of the real sports-themed event or the session of the virtual online gaming event by means of an electronic transfer between the operator's transactional account and the previously registered by the bettor.
At the bettor's discretion, the prize may remain in his transactional account, registered in his graphical account, to use his credits in new bets with the same operator.
The Ordinance also determines that in addition to the provisions contained in the document, the tax rules applicable to the payment of prizes to bettors published by the Federal Revenue Secretariat.
Source: GMB
