In addition, operators will be required to submit daily reports on player profiles, income, value and frequency of bets.
“We will have educational campaigns that we are developing both here at the Treasury and with our regulated entities (the companies). There will be a significant boost with the joint work with the Ministry of Health for the awareness phase,” said Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Betting at the Ministry of Finance, to Globo.
The campaigns had been in the works since the beginning of the reports of irregular operations, and now the government has decided that they need to be implemented to ensure transparency in the activities of sports betting and online gaming.
The most immediate campaign, to be launched in October, will publicize the list of companies temporarily authorized to operate until December 31. This list will include companies that submit their license requests to the Ministry of Finance's Prizes and Betting Secretariat.
Next, the government will launch a campaign in conjunction with the Ministry of Health to warn about the risks of debt and health issues. This campaign will emphasize the importance of self-imposing limits and will alert users to the dangers of gambling addiction.
In January 2025, once the betting companies are fully authorized to operate, the government will release the list of companies allowed to operate in Brazil. These companies must have the bet.br domain, and those that do not will be prohibited from offering sports betting and online gaming.
Betting companies will also be required to disclose if they use “influencers,” along with the terms of their contracts and remuneration.
The process of regulating betting is underway, and the government set a deadline of August 20 for interested parties to register to have their licenses approved by the end of this year and to start 2025 with a regulated operation. Applications from 113 companies that met the first deadline, as well as four others that applied later, are currently under review.
The deadline for granting authorization ends this year, but the Ministry of Finance has already published an ordinance this Tuesday to announce the list of companies deemed legal. Those not on this list will be prohibited from providing services as of October 1.
According to the secretary, the government acted early because it identified a group of companies exploiting bettors and committing crimes under the guise of betting.
"We started to see a split between two groups: one group of betting companies that want to operate legally in Brazil, and another group that started using betting to commit fraud, exploit bettors, and even commit crimes. This ordinance aims to immediately distinguish these companies. This was aligned with the President of the Republic," he said.
In the coming days, companies that have requested authorization will need to disclose their brands and websites. Starting in January, they will be required to use the bet.br domain.
The secretary admitted that the timeframe for identifying illegal companies is short, but the task will be carried out in cooperation with security forces, such as the Federal Police and the National Telecommunications Agency. The plan includes the use of intelligence and all available technological tools.
"Today, we already have a list of several hundred companies offering (bets). We will compare this with the list of those authorized. We will request the shutdown of any companies not on the authorized list," explained the secretary.
He mentioned that suspicious cases involving crimes will be forwarded to the relevant authorities, and it is the regulator's responsibility to enforce compliance with the rules and ensure that bettors do not experience health or financial problems due to gambling.
"We don't control, a priori, whether a person should gamble or not. What we do control is ensuring that, given their psychological and financial characteristics, they don't face health or debt issues," Dudena emphasized, adding that starting in January, more detailed profiles of bettors will be required.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the regulation being developed is robust and has the potential to protect consumers. However, the secretary acknowledges there are challenges: "We are aware that this will bring challenges. Regulating mechanisms that operate on the internet is not trivial."
The regulation process has involved 10 normative acts in total. For example, an ordinance issued at the end of July establishes rules for responsible gaming. Credit card use is prohibited, although this will only take effect in January.
Another rule in the ordinance mandates the self-regulation of operators. Sites must offer tools for bettors to control their activities, as well as make it clear that gambling is not a way to get rich or supplement income.
"The site must monitor the bettor in all their activities. If a bettor has an income profile that is inconsistent with their betting behavior, the site will be required to issue an alert, indicating that the betting exceeds the profile. If the bettor persists, a mandatory pause will be imposed, and in extreme cases, the bettor may be banned," the secretary explained.
All of this, he said, must be reported to the government. The Ministry of Finance seeks to convey the message that online betting should be viewed strictly as entertainment. In this type of game, most bettors lose, and the real winners are the operators, said an insider.
"The duty of the State is to ensure that people don’t become ill or fall into debt. When we regulate an entertainment activity, we want people to have fun and leave safe and sound. What we are doing is ensuring that service providers are authorized, monitored, and inspected, and if they fail to comply, they will be punished," he said.
On the other hand, the regulation of betting will increase federal government revenue. The operator authorization process will be continuous, meaning that starting in January, any company can apply to the Ministry of Finance to offer services.
Source: GMB / O Globo
