On March 21, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) published Ordinance 566, aiming to strengthen the fight against the illegal market by blocking transnational accounts. In early 2025 alone, unauthorized betting houses caused an estimated loss of R$ 350 million (US$61m) for licensed operators and the Federal Revenue Service.
ENV Media's analysis identified that Pix has been widely used on unregulated platforms, which calls for urgent attention from government authorities.
Pix and the impact of illegal platforms
In 2024, the Central Bank decided to enter the debate, revealing that the volume of betting in the country had reached R$ 20 billion (US$3.5bn) per month via Pix.
Although these calculations are controversial, according to the Central Bank's 2024 Payment Methods Statistics, with over 7 million monthly transactions recorded as early as January of that year, Pix has established itself as the preferred payment method among Brazilians.
Thus, even though Brazil has banned the use of credit cards—including Bolsa Família benefits—to prevent debt accumulation in casinos and online sports betting, Pix remains available for any transaction.
This issue exposes consumers to risks, especially since illegal operators blatantly disregard Responsible Gaming policies.
Most transactions in the global iGaming market occur via PayPal, with credit cards, bank transfers, and services like Google Pay or Apple Pay being less popular options. In Brazil, Pix leads.
Given the volume of transactions, the Central Bank already has enough data to measure the impact of illegal platforms. Just as it was done with credit cards, Pix transactions to illegal sites should also be blocked.
Such a measure would make offshore operations more difficult, as players would need to open foreign accounts to place bets, making access less attractive.
According to ENV Media's analysis, the migration of licensed operators to the .bet.br domain drastically reduced their visibility on Google’s search results pages. For some apparently technical reason, Google limited the search results of licensed operators to just two positions per query.
Conversely, illegal sites under .com domains gained prominence. As a result, Brazilian operators lost 79% of their search traffic, leading to monthly losses exceeding R$ 575,000 (US$100,000), in addition to affecting tax collection and the growth of the regulated market.
Taxation and the competitive disadvantage of licensed operators
Regarding taxation, licensed operators are subject to a 12% tax on Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), 15% on player winnings, plus 34% corporate income tax, not to mention PIS/COFINS and ISS. This tax burden exceeds 50%, while illegal betting platforms continue to operate in tax havens without contributing any revenue to Brazil.
Blocking strategies for illegal betting sites in Brazil and worldwide
Blocking IPs, DNS, or URLs of illegal betting sites is the most common strategy in regulated markets. In Brazil, Anatel uses DNS blocking, the cheapest and simplest method to enforce the SPA’s blacklist. However, as seen in other markets, whenever an illegal site is taken down, another quickly takes its place.
Different approaches yield different results. Denmark, for example, uses a search mechanism that speeds up the detection and blocking of illegal sites. Meanwhile, Greece, Cyprus, and Brazil manually update their blocklists. Cyprus, however, publishes its blocklist online to raise awareness.
Thus, DNS blocking could be more effective if combined with educational measures—such as informing users about the reason for the block rather than just displaying a 404 error page.
While site blocking is important, what can truly suffocate offshore operations is payment blocking. By preventing deposits and withdrawals or cutting off access to services like PayPal, the illegal market loses strength.
In the United States, payment blocking was implemented in 2006 by the Federal Reserve System. There, financial institutions are required to suspend prohibited transactions. In France, the National Gambling Authority (ANJ) gained the power to impose payment blocks in 2022, making the process more effective than simply blocking websites.
While mature markets like the U.S. employ various strategies, including blocking payments and cryptocurrencies, Brazil still primarily focuses on blocking websites. Between October 2024 and March 2025 alone, the number of blocked offshore sites jumped from 3,440 to 12,500—a 263% increase.
For this reason, in addition to blocking sites, the government has also started targeting influencers who promote illegal platforms. In January 2025, the SPA conducted 75 inspections, 51 of which involved digital influencers.
That same month, YouTube announced it would penalize content promoting illegal casinos and betting platforms. However, in March, the National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development (SNAED) identified 53 accounts and 25 YouTube channels displaying videos promising false earnings to a large audience.
Despite these efforts, illegal platforms continue to spread on social media. As of March 2025, ENV Media’s research team identified over 100 videos promoting illegal casino platforms or fake gambling strategies on YouTube. One video, which showed fake "hacks" for the game Fortune Tiger, had accumulated 115,000 views over two years.
Key strategies against illegal betting platforms
Brazil already offers advantages to licensed operators, such as the exclusive use of the .bet.br domain. However, governance issues within Big Tech companies—such as difficulties in identifying illegal content—diminish these benefits. Therefore, expanding this discussion and pressuring platforms for greater responsibility is urgent.
Additionally, Brazil could follow Cyprus’ example and start publishing its blocklist to educate the public. However, the biggest challenge remains financial blocking. In the country, it appears to be easier to take down websites than to request banks and fintechs to suspend transactions.
As the monetary authority, the Central Bank must take a more active role in combating the illegal market. The institution has already improved Pix by excluding irregular account keys and should cooperate directly with the SPA to block illegal payments.
It is also essential to involve fintechs like PayPal, which dominates the global iGaming sector. Only then will it be possible to ensure a legal market in Brazil.
As seen in the United States, blocking payments—especially Pix—would increase player safety and strengthen Responsible Gaming in the country. This would ensure a prosperous market capable of generating even greater tax revenues.
Source: Simone do Vale - ENV Media
