The list of institutions includes well-known names in the market, such as FitBank – which has JP Morgan in its shareholder base –, Voluti and Microcash.
These are not isolated cases. The column identified 136 illegal betting sites that use these platforms to receive their payments. To do so, the reporter accessed the internet addresses, registered on the platforms and simulated transfers via Pix.
The sites have grotesque signs of illegality: they promise bonuses of R$100,000 (US$17,000), accept registrations with false CPFs, names and other data (such as CPF 000.000.000-00) and even recommend the use of a VPN to bypass possible blocks.
The Betting Law of 2023 prohibits payment scheme providers, as well as financial and payment institutions, from allowing “transactions for the purpose of placing fixed-odds bets with legal entities that have not received authorization to operate bets” from the Ministry of Finance.
In addition to being irregular, the actions of these institutions have favored the maintenance and proliferation of illegal bets on the internet.
When contacted, Finance reported that it had recently notified 22 financial and payment institutions that were identified as operating with unauthorized betting companies.
The department headed by Minister Fernando Haddad also added that it is working on an ordinance on the subject to be published in the coming weeks.
The Central Bank reported that it is working to build more effective inspection tools to prevent illegal companies from using the National Financial System.
How illegal betting and payment institutions operate
Earlier this month, influencer Dayanne Bezerra, sister of lawyer and fellow influencer Deolane Bezerra, posted an advertisement for an illegal betting site on her Instagram profile, where she has around 2 million followers, promising easy winnings.
Dayanne did a “live” video: she bet R$8 (US$1.4) on “Fortune Tiger” through BBR Bet and won R$240 (US$41.25) in just 1 minute. A surprising profit of 3,000%. “It’s great! Don’t be too suspicious,” she said on Instagram.
When accessing the link provided by the influencer, it is possible to find information on the BBR Bet website homepage that attests to the illegality of the platform. One of the points that corroborates this fact is that the internet domain ends in “.com” and not in “bet.br”, as determined by the Ministry of Finance.
In addition, the company’s headquarters are in Costa Rica. The department's Prizes and Betting Department, however, defines that the headquarters must be on national soil.
The column then simulated the deposit of R$20 (US$3.45) to BBR Bet. The Pix was intended for Brapay, which is the company that operates the illegal betting. The intermediary financial institution in the transaction was Voluti, which presents itself, according to the company's own website, as “the best instant payment infrastructure to scale your business.”
Brapay has an active license with the city of Bodó, in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte. The city accredited 38 online betting houses based on a public notice released in October. The companies paid a concession of R$5,000 (US$860) to operate.
However, only the Union, the States and the Federal District can offer fixed-odds bets. The Ministry of Finance has already notified the city of Bodó.
When contacted, Voluti denied that it operates with illegal ‘Bets’ and added that it terminated contracts with all betting platforms, including those with municipal or state licenses, due to the lack of concrete information about geolocation controls.
On Wednesday (26/2) the column again simulated a Pix for the platform disclosed by Deolane Bezerra's sister. This time, the intermediary institution was Creditag, a credit union that has been operating since 2003 and is headquartered in Mineiros (GO). When contacted, it did not respond.
O Banco Central informou que atua no sentido de construir ferramentas de fiscalização mais eficazes para impedir que as empresas ilegais usem o Sistema Financeiro Nacional.
Blatantly fake betting sites
Just like BBR Bet, the websites of the 138 illegal betting sites identified by the column show several signs of illegality. It is common for the platforms to accept fictitious registrations, offer stratospheric bonuses and use false authentication factors.
Naturally, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has had difficulty taking them down, since the criminals, as soon as their platforms are taken offline, quickly create other betting links with the same structure and aesthetics.
In this way, the contract between the illegal betting sites and the financial institutions allows them to continue operating illegally: all they have to do is create a new website, since the payment method remains unchanged.
Ministry of Finance prepares ordinance on financial institutions and illegal ‘Bets’
In a note, the Ministry of Finance reported that it had notified 22 financial and payment institutions that were identified as operating with unauthorized betting companies. The department added that it is working on an ordinance to detail this legal duty, which should be published in the coming weeks.
“The SPA [Secretariat of Prizes and Betting] maintains constant cooperation with the Central Bank in order to build more effective inspection tools to prevent illegal companies from using the national financial system,” it added.
Finally, the Treasury explained that information about the identified institutions is being shared with the Central Bank, for assessment of their performance within its legal scope of competence.
In turn, the Central Bank stated that the Betting Law (No. 14,790/2023) does not grant it specific competence, including in aspects in which the legislation deals with institutions authorized to operate by the agency, but added that, within the scope of its activities, “it has a legal duty to report to the competent public bodies irregularities and administrative offenses of which it is aware or evidence of their practice.”
“The Central Bank does not monitor customer transactions nor does it conduct intelligence on financial crimes. The Central Bank's activities are in the administrative sphere, which does not prevent the agency from acting in coordination with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Police and other supervisory bodies. The Central Bank also improves its regulation whenever necessary," it said in a statement.
"The Central Bank maintains constant cooperation with the Ministry of Finance in order to build more effective inspection tools to prevent illegal companies from using the National Financial System," it concluded.
What the financial institutions mentioned have to say
The column sought out all eight financial institutions mentioned.
FitBank reported that it is a Payment Institution regulated and monitored by the Central Bank for over 9 years, which applies strict compliance standards to all of its more than 200 clients, regardless of the sector in which they operate. “In addition, FitBank not only supports, but also collaborates with all actions by the Government and the Central Bank that aim to improve transparency and facilitate the monitoring of illegal activities.”
“Specifically regarding the betting sector, in a preventive manner, FitBank's risk monitoring teams carry out anti-fraud work, with active daily searches and blocking of irregular betting sites, always following the rules and regulations in force. This activity is obvious and dynamic and includes the negative list published by the Ministry of Finance, in addition to proprietary lists containing together more than 4,000 unauthorized links. FitBank’s compliance also requires its customers to sign a statement guaranteeing that they do not work with illegal websites and informs Coaf (Financial Activities Control Council) about any suspicious transactions,” it added.
FitBank also stated that it does not have betting websites as its clients and is only a service provider for PSPs (Payment Service Providers) and payment gateways.
Voluti pointed out that it has never operated with illegal bets. “We have always required that companies have valid municipal, state or federal licenses. Since we have not received specific information about which companies are being mentioned, we cannot individually confirm which licenses they have. In addition, we terminated contracts with all betting platforms, including those with municipal or state licenses, due to the lack of concrete information about geolocation controls (i.e., the guarantee that they only operated within the authorized jurisdiction).”
Voluti also said that it serves payment gateways, which in turn have several clients. “It may happen that some client of these gateways processes payments for bets without our prior knowledge. However, when our team identifies this situation, access is immediately blocked, reinforcing our commitment to complying with regulatory standards.”
Finally, Voluti stated that it has adopted strict measures to ensure regulatory compliance. “We have already blocked transactions for bets and continue to improve our systems to mitigate risks. In addition, we continuously monitor the platform's clients to prevent any misuse, ensuring full alignment with the standards of regulatory agencies.”
Microcash also denied that it operates for illegal bets. “Microcash is a financial institution authorized by the Central Bank and a participant in the Pix system, offering payment accounts for clients to use Pix. Over the last 12 years, we have served more than 400,000 companies and 15 million users in sectors such as technology, transportation, entertainment, financial institutions, startups and payment companies.”
“In the past, we have identified unregulated betting transactions brokered by payment companies that use our services. This type of use violates our terms of service and has resulted in account blocking and deactivation, fines and reports to the competent authorities,” it said.
Microcash emphasized that it takes the prevention and combating of illicit activities very seriously and that it is fully committed to legal compliance and the security of the financial system. “The same difficulties that authorities face in monitoring this segment and combating such transactions are also faced by financial institutions, including difficulties in identifying, filtering, preventing and controlling the behavior and core activity of each account holder,” it said.
“We employ the best market practices and have an active compliance team, in line with the recommendations of national monetary authorities, so that we rigorously investigate all reports,” it continued. “If we identify customers who use our services for transactions not permitted by our terms of service, including processing payments for irregular bets, they will all be notified and subject to penalties that include blocking and deactivating accounts, fines and reporting to the competent authorities,” concluded Microcash.
The company emphasized that it maintains an active and transparent reporting channel, available on the website and by email at compliance@microcashif.com.br, to investigate any facts and irregularities.
Treeal stated that it is an institution regulated by the Central Bank. It also pointed out that it complies with regulatory standards, having only those licensed to operate as customers.
Sants Bank, Ecomovi, Creditag and Silium did not respond.
Source: Metrópoles
