Fixed-odds betting companies that have not yet requested authorization to operate will have their operations suspended as of October 1, the Ministry of Finance reported this Tuesday (17).
According to an Ordinance published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU), from next month until the end of December, only betting companies that are already operating and that requested authorization to operate the fixed-odds lottery betting modality by last Monday (16) will be able to continue operating.
As of October, companies that have not requested authorization will be classified as illegal until their operations are authorized by the Ministry of Finance. Betting sites that operate in Brazil without authorization will be subject to the penalties provided for by law, which provides for fines of up to R$2 billion (US$ 360m) per violation.
Those who requested authorization but were not yet operating will have to wait to begin operations in January — that is, if they obtain authorization from the ministry and upon fulfilling all requirements.
The expectation is that Finance will conclude the process of analyzing the first requests received and that from January 1, 2025, when the regulated betting market will begin in Brazil, only companies that comply with the law and the department's regulatory ordinances will continue to operate.
According to the ministry, approved companies will have to pay a R$30 million (US$ 5.4m) grant this year to start operating and, starting in January, they will also have to comply with all rules to combat fraud, money laundering and abusive advertising, among others.
Authorized betting houses that pay these R$30 million will be able to operate up to three brands for five years. By the end of August, five companies had submitted an additional request and, if approved, will be able to operate up to six brands each.
In an official statement, the Secretary of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, Regis Dudena, stated that the department will maintain the adaptation period until the end of December only for those who have already demonstrated that they "want to act in accordance with the law."
"Many police operations involving companies that operate in the betting market in a criminal manner have come to light. This was the way we found to not wait until January to start separating the wheat from the chaff," said Dudena.
"We want to protect the mental, financial and physical health of gamblers, preventing the activities of companies that use sports betting and online gaming as a means of committing fraud and money laundering," he added.
The secretary also emphasized that the adaptation period "cannot be used to fail to comply with laws already in force," such as the Money Laundering, Financial Crimes or Consumer Protection Code laws, for example. "When analyzing authorization requests, we are taking into account the commission of illegal acts," he said.
Adaptation period
According to the Treasury, active companies that have already requested authorization from the ministry have until September 30 to inform which of their trademarks are in operation and which websites they use during this adaptation period.
"Starting in January, all authorized companies will use the Brazilian internet domain, with the extension 'bet.br'," the ministry said in an official statement.
According to the Ministry, companies that did not request authorization can no longer offer fixed-odds bets, but they must make their websites available until October 10, in order to allow bettors to withdraw their funds.
"As of October 11, these websites and their respective applications will be banned and will be taken offline," said the Ministry of Finance, reiterating that, to this end, the Ministry will intensify dialogue with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), the Central Bank and the National Telecommunications Agency.
SPA/MF ORDINANCE No. 1,475, OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2024
Provides for the conditions and deadlines for adaptation for legal entities that operate the fixed-odds lottery betting modality provided for in art. 9, sole paragraph, of Law No. 14,790, of December 29, 2023, and in art. 24 of SPA/MF Ordinance No. 827, of May 21, 2024, until the deadline of December 31, 2024.
THE SECRETARY OF PRIZES AND BETS OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by art. 55, section I, of Annex 1 of Decree No. 11,907, of January 30, 2024, and in view of the provisions of Law No. 13,756, of December 12, 2018, and Law No. 14,790, of December 29, 2023, resolves:
Art. 1º This Ordinance establishes the conditions and deadlines for adaptation for legal entities that explore the fixed-odds lottery modality provided for in art. 9º, sole paragraph, of Law No. 14,790, of December 29, 2023, and in art. 24 of SPA/MF Ordinance No. 827, of May 21, 2024, until the deadline of December 31, 2024.
Art. 2º For the purposes of the provisions of art. 9, sole paragraph, of Law No. 14,790, of December 29, 2023, and application of the provisions of art. 24 of Ordinance SPA/MF No. 827, of May 21, 2024, only legal entities in activity that have submitted the authorization request to the Ministry of Finance by the date of publication of this Ordinance are considered to be in the adaptation period, as of October 1, 2024.
§ 1º As of October 1, 2024, the operation of the fixed-odds lottery betting modality nationwide by a legal entity without authorization from the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance and that does not comply with the terms of the caput is prohibited.
§ 2º Without prejudice to the rights of bettors to withdraw the deposits to which they are entitled, the deadline until October 10, 2024 is established for the withdrawal of deposits to be made on the internet domain of the legal entity in which they were made.
§ 3º If a website is identified that operates the fixed-odds lottery betting modality nationwide, without authorization from the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance and that does not comply with the terms of the caput, the appropriate notifications will be made to proceed, as of October 11, 2024, to the blocking and exclusion of the applications that offer the service in disagreement with the legislation and current regulations. § 4º The legal entity that holds a bettor's deposit is obliged to keep and preserve the deposited amounts and to return them when the depositor so requests, also ensuring the means for such a demand to be formalized, regardless of the term referred to in §2º.
§ 5º Legal entities interested in operating the fixed-odds lottery modality nationwide that do not fall under the caput may only provide such service upon prior authorization to be issued by the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, under the terms of the Law and specific regulations, in particular SPA/MF Ordinance No. 827, of May 21, 2024.
Art. 3 Legal entities interested in operating the fixed-odds betting lottery modality that have submitted the authorization request to the Ministry of Finance within the period provided for in art. 2 must indicate, by September 30, 2024, to the Prizes and Betting Secretariat, their active brands and the respective internet domains where they will provide the service during the adaptation period, as set forth in the appendix.
§ 1 Only the brands and respective internet domains that are indicated to the Prizes and Betting Secretariat under the terms of the caput may operate fixed-odds betting nationwide during the adaptation period.
§ 2 As of January 1, 2025, only authorized betting operators may operate the activity in the country, which will occur exclusively in a Brazilian internet domain with the extension “bet.br”.
§ 3º The Prizes and Betting Secretariat will send a communication to the States and the Federal District that operate the fixed-odds lottery modality within their territories, pursuant to art. 35-A of Law No. 13,756 of December 12, 2018, requesting the indication of the authorized brands in operation and their respective internet domains.
Art. 4º During the adaptation period referred to in this Ordinance, all duties and respective penalties provided for as a result of non-compliance with the legislation in force shall remain applicable, in particular:
I – in Law No. 8,069 of July 13, 1990;
II – in Law No. 8,078 of September 11, 1990 – Consumer Protection Code;
III – in Law No. 7,492 of June 16, 1986; and
IV – in Law No. 9,613 of March 3, 1998.
Art. 5. The commission of unlawful acts will be considered in the analysis of the request for authorization to commercially exploit the fixed-odds lottery modality, taking into account the national interest and the protection of the interests of the community, pursuant to art. 5 of Law No. 14,790 of December 29, 2023.
Art. 6. The inspection authorities may request from legal entities that operate the fixed-odds lottery betting modality, at any time, documents proving their regularity to operate the activity
Art. 7. The Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance will be responsible for monitoring and adopting the necessary measures to comply with this Ordinance, in coordination with other authorities with the power to pursue the infractions committed.
Art. 8. The provisions of this Ordinance apply to all betting modalities provided for in Law No. 14,790 of December 29, 2023.
Art. 9. This Ordinance shall come into force on the date of its publication.
REGIS ANDERSON DUDENA
***
ANNEX
APPLICATION FOR INDICATION OF LEGAL ENTITIES IN OPERATION TO ACT DURING THE PERIOD OF ADAPTATION
1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE REQUESTING LEGAL ENTITY:
Corporate name:
CNPJ:
Headquarters Address: address, complement, zip code, neighborhood, city, state
2. INFORMATION RELATING TO THE APPLICATION
2.1. Details of the trademarks currently used: inform the quantity, trade name and respective internet domain of the trademarks that are used by the requesting legal entity during the adaptation period referred to in art. 9, sole paragraph, of Law No. 14,790, of December 29, 2023, and art. 24 of Ordinance SPA/MF No. 827, of May 21, 2024.
2.2. Subject of fixed-odds bets: for each trademark to be used, inform the subject of the fixed-odds bets offered, pursuant to art. 3, Law No. 14,790 of 2023.
2.2.1) Trademark 1: trade name
Website:
2.2.2) Trademark 2: trade name
Website:
2.2.3) Trademark 3: trade name
Website:
2.3. Modalities currently offered: for each trademark currently operated, inform whether it is offered in virtual or physical modalities, separately or jointly, in accordance with art. 14 of Law No. 14,790 of 2023.
2.3.1) Trademark 1: trade name
1. a) virtual only: ( )
2. b) physical only: ( )
3. c) virtual and physical together: ( )
2.3.2) Trademark 2: trade name
1. a) virtual only: ( )
2. b) physical only: ( )
3. c) virtual and physical together: ( )
2.3.3) Trademark 3: trade name
1. a) virtual only: ( )
2. b) physical only: ( )
3. c) virtual and physical together: ( )
3. DECLARATION
The legal entity identified above expressly declares that it is fully aware that the brands and internet domains not indicated in this procedure may not explore activities related to the fixed-odds lottery modality during the legally established adaptation period, and that the Prizes and Bets Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance has the authority to conduct special investigations to seek any clarifications necessary to clarify the information contained therein, and under the penalties of the applicable legislation, further declares that the information and statements presented are reliable and true. It further declares that it is aware that the commission of unlawful acts by the brands and internet domains indicated will be considered in the analysis of the request for authorization to commercially explore the fixed-odds lottery modality.
Place and date:
Name, CPF and position of the signatories
Notes:
– the request must be digitally signed by the applicant who signed the authorization request; and
– the request must be sent to the email address [email protected], with the title REQUEST FOR INDICATION OF LEGAL ENTITIES IN ACTION TO ACT DURING THE ADEQUACY PERIOD followed by the name of the requesting company by 11:59 p.m. and 59:59 p.m. on September 30, 2024.
Source: GMB
