The Ordinance SPA/FM No. 827 establishes the rules and conditions for obtaining authorization for the commercial exploitation of the fixed-odds betting lottery modality and online gaming by private economic agents throughout Brazil’s national territory.
It stipulates that the commercial exploitation of fixed-odds betting and online gaming will be exclusive to legal entities that receive prior authorization from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance to act as an operating agent.
According to the document, those operating in the Brazilian market must present authorization and comply with the regulations by December 31 of this year. From January 1, 2025, they will be prohibited from engaging in the activity and will be subject to penalties.
The document establishes that the grant will cost R$ 30 million (US$ 5.9m) for up to three brands, with authorization to operate for five years. It also specifies that the company must be established in Brazil with a minimum 20% ownership stake by a Brazilian partner. No company may be established in Brazil solely as a branch of an operator constituted abroad.
The grant fee must be paid within 30 days after the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting informs the interested party of the approval of the authorization request. The applicant will be notified through the Betting Management System (SIGAP), the electronic means through which all interactions between interested parties and SPA will take place.
Companies that apply for authorization within 90 days after the publication date will have an additional period to pay the authorization fees and the guarantee that the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting will grant the authorization by December 31.
To obtain the license, the operator must submit documents for legal qualification, starting with the authorization request (Annex I of the Ordinance), identification of controllers, CNPJ registration, and others. Additionally, certificates proving fiscal and labor regularity and economic-financial qualification must be presented.
The applicant must register with the Commercial Registry with the main corporate purpose of "Fixed-odds Betting Exploitation," using the CNAE (National Classification of Economic Activities) 9200-3/99, subclass "Exploitation of gambling and betting not previously specified."
Applicants must prove the establishment of a financial reserve of at least R$ 5 million (US$ 980,000) for prize payments and proof of capitalization of a minimum of R$ 30 million (US$ 5.9m) and net worth of the same amount.
The ordinance also requires the technical qualification of the applicants. The submission or technical certificate of the betting system issued by one of the laboratories authorized by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting will be accepted.
Applicants must also declare the adoption and implementation of policies, procedures, and internal controls regarding the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Companies must implement responsible gaming rules and prevention of pathological gambling disorders, codes of conduct, and the dissemination of good advertising and publicity practices, betting integrity, prevention of match-fixing, and liquidity risk management.
Operators must also provide proof that they are members of or associated with an independent national or foreign sports integrity monitoring organization or entity that aims to combat match-fixing in sporting events.
The ordinance also establishes the need to describe the entire structure of how it will serve bettors, necessarily installed in Brazil with customer service in Portuguese. Service channels must be electronic and telephone-based, free of charge, and operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Annexes
The ten annexes to the ordinance are:
Annex I – Application for authorization for commercial exploitation of the fixed-odds lottery betting modality.
Annex II – Identification form for controlling shareholders, holders of qualified holdings, administrators and final beneficiaries.
Annex III – Registration form for controllers and holders of qualified holdings (legal entity)
Annex IV – Registration form for legal representative, controllers, holders of qualified holdings, final beneficiaries and administrators (natural persons)
Annex V – Identification form and declaration of compliance with general rules relating to payment transactions
Annex VI – Declaration of unblemished reputation (legal entities)
Annex VII – Declaration of unblemished reputation and compliance with the requirements for possession and exercise (natural persons)
Annex VIII – Declaration of lawful origin of resources (legal and natural persons)
Annex IX – Policy implementation statement
Annex X – Declaration of economic and financial capacity of controllers (natural and legal entities)
In this way, the first phase of the regulatory agenda foreseen by the SPA was completed with the following ordinances:
1 - Ordinance Enabling certification laboratories
2 - Payment Methods Ordinance
3 - Betting systems ordinance
4 - Authorization ordinance
The next step will be PHASE 2, which includes:
5 - Money laundering and other crimes ordinance - Policy, procedures and controls aimed at preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other frauds related to the commercial exploitation of gambling fixed quota.
6 - Rights and obligations ordinance - Set of rules to be observed by authorized operators to comply with legal provisions and guarantee the rights of bettors.
Source: GMB
