The banned 'Bets' still direct users to the betting market. Among the sites listed by the government as irregular on October 11 and 31, and December 16, 2024, at least 83% lead to online gaming platforms. The list of pages that should have been blocked was obtained through the Access to Information Law.
Government claims to have taken down over 5,200 sites. The SPA estimate was released on December 10, when a Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed with Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) to "speed up and optimize" the blocking of URLs that exploit betting in an irregular manner.
The blocking model adopted does not prevent illegal gambling. The president of National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), Plínio Lemos Jorge, states that URL access interruptions are insufficient. "We discussed DNS blocking with Anatel, which targets the root of the site, preventing users from finding these 'Bets' on the internet," he says.
“When the root is blocked, the site cannot be identified because the URL remains unchanged. This creates difficulties for the illegal site's owner and highlights the need for bettors to seek a regulated site,” says the executive.
Redirects to sites and apps are common. Even after bans, strategies continue to redirect users to other betting platforms. "Blocking does not prevent a site from being redirected, but it depends on how the restriction was implemented and the intentions of those trying to circumvent it. Mobile applications do not rely on a public interface via URL and may be harder to block than websites accessed directly through a browser," explains André Perin, an engineering professor at FEI.
Other countries also struggle to prevent betting. Not even China, where the practice is considered illegal, manages to ban 100% of these sites, says José Francisco Manssur, a lawyer who worked at the Ministry of Finance during the regulation process of betting houses. "The United Kingdom, the country with the world's highest level of control, still has 20% of sites outside the regulated market. China, despite imposing major restrictions on accessing Google, is extremely ineffective in banning betting,” he says.
Sites warn about their unavailability to operate. Some addresses that should be blocked in national territory issue notices to Brazilian bettors about the irregularity of their services. Still, these sites remain active for those looking to bypass the system.
Illegal betting sites mimic the visual identity of legal ones. Another common occurrence among irregular 'Bets' is the replication of graphic elements and brand ambassadors from authorized platforms operating in Brazil. Some even feature advertisements falsely validated by the government.
UOL checked all 7,599 sites individually. All access attempts were made without using a VPN, a private network that allows users to bypass restrictions on web services. Blocked addresses due to unsafe connection alerts, data theft risks, or excessive redirection issues were considered inactive. Domains listed for sale were also not counted.
Anatel says monitoring is the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. In a statement, the regulatory agency acknowledges the strategies used by illegal betting houses to evade blocking measures but claims it is not responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of actions across more than 21,000 fixed and mobile broadband providers.
"This monitoring is carried out by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance. We recognize the difficulty in completely eliminating this illegal activity, as it involves technical aspects related to website blocking implementation and legal aspects concerning the competence of the involved authorities," Anatel highlights.
Regulator calls for cooperation to curb the rise of irregular 'Bets'. "Since this is an illegal activity that disregards national borders, international cooperation should be considered, similar to efforts to combat transnational organized crime," Anatel reinforces.
The Ministry of Finance did not respond to requests for comment before the publication of this report. Any response provided will be included. Interviews with a spokesperson from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting and comments on the issue were requested but unsuccessful.
Regulation
Rules took effect in January 2025. At that time, the list of companies authorized to operate fixed-odds lottery betting was published. The SPA emphasizes that selection occurred after verifying compliance with technical and financial requirements for authorized betting houses.
The list of authorized operators has expanded in recent weeks. With updates, 155 'Bets' from 72 companies are now authorized to operate in national territory. Another 13 brands from six companies remain active due to judicial decisions.
Regulations define how betting houses must operate. According to the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting, legal 'Bets' must pay a licensing fee of R$30 million (US$ 5.25m) and operate under the ".bet.br" domain. Non-compliance with these rules can result in license suspension for up to 90 days, and continued violations may lead to permanent revocation.
Measures aim to protect bettors. The prohibition of credit for betting, the requirement for bettors to verify their identity via CPF (Individual Taxpayer Registration) and facial recognition, and financial flow monitoring are among the key rules. Companies that fail to comply may be deemed illegal and banned from operating in Brazil.
Irregular companies may be charged with fraud. However, experts explain that prosecuting those responsible for illegal 'Bets' is challenging, as they are often based outside Brazil. "I believe 99% of the [betting house] owners are abroad, making them hard to locate," laments the ANJL president. To address this issue, Lemos advocates for identifying financial accounts and influencers who promote illegal sites.
Source: UOL
