Debaters call for regulation of social networks to curb Brazil’s illegal betting market

Congressman Bacelar, who requested the hearing, stated that even after the regulation of the betting market in Brazil through Law 14.790/23, there continue to be reports of illegal operators acting in the country without paying taxes or offering consumer protection guarantees.

“I believe much of these problems stem from the delay in regulation. For five years it was a completely lawless land. I think efforts have focused on licensing since 2023, and only now are we starting to move towards enforcement. Blocking websites is like drying ice; over 12,000 sites have already been blocked,” he said.

The law conditions the operation of the online betting market on prior approval from the Ministry of Finance and prohibits financial institutions from allowing or conducting financial transactions with unauthorized companies.

“The national financial system, forgive the comparison, knows even who we sleep with—how can it not control and identify this?” Bacelar added.

Enforcement

André Wainer, coordinator of Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring at the Ministry of Finance, reported that the ministry has already authorized 72 companies to operate in the online betting market, representing 164 brands. Another six companies (12 more brands) obtained authorization through court rulings.

Each company pays a monthly supervision fee ranging from R$55,000 (US$9,700) to R$2 million (US$353,000), depending on its size, totaling around R$7 million (US$1.23m) monthly in revenue for the Treasury.

He also noted that inspections began in 2025, with 69 inspection processes already initiated. Of these, 20 sanctioning processes have been opened, with five already resolved—resulting in three warnings and two fines of R$1.2 million (US$211,000) each.

So far this year, the Ministry has requested the blocking of over 7,000 websites from Anatel. Additionally, institutions used for illegal financial transactions are being scrutinized, with 69 institutions already notified.

The Ministry is also engaging with social media platforms to remove profiles that promote illegal betting.

“There were 22 inspections involving digital influencers, and we have communication channels with tech companies to request these takedowns and are negotiating with them to enhance their efforts,” he said.

Wainer mentioned the Ministry is studying parameters to implement a distinctive seal with a token to identify authorized betting operators.

Marcelo Alves da Silva, Anatel’s Superintendent, stated that more than 12,000 sites have been blocked. He explained that Anatel blocks access to these illegal sites—often hosted outside Brazil—since it cannot take down the sites themselves. He advocated for regulating digital platforms.

Responsibility of big tech

Giovanni Rocco Neto, National Secretary for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports at the Ministry of Sports, called for greater accountability from big tech companies in combating illegal operators.

“YouTube itself promotes an illegal betting site. That’s public information that must be addressed. This is a complex issue that includes regulating social media, which has become a no man’s land. And it’s not just Google, there’s also Meta, with Instagram—there’s a lot happening there. It’s a black box and it must be held accountable.”

Rocco also said the Ministry has signed five cooperation agreements with monitoring and integrity organizations to strengthen efforts to combat match-fixing. He recommended joining the Macolin Convention, the Council of Europe’s convention against the manipulation of sports competitions.

“We’re fighting a transnational crime. Sometimes the match is happening here but being manipulated abroad—or vice versa—so international cooperation is essential,” he emphasized.

Consumer protection

Vitor Hugo do Amaral, director of the Consumer Protection and Defense Department at the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, stressed that Brazil already has a law—the Consumer Protection Code—to combat illegal practices, including misleading and abusive advertising.

He said Senacon is already conducting training and guidance on the betting market.

“Very soon, we’ll be able to share the main data obtained on the platform Consumidor.gov.br from complaints filed by consumers,” he said.

View of legal operators

Pietro Lorenzoni, Legal Director of the National Association of Games and Lotteries, said there are over 12,000 illegal websites in Brazil that follow no rules, lack anti-money laundering measures, responsible gaming policies, or consumer protections—and still operate using PIX.

According to him, the illegal market is twice the size of the regulated one, which must be based in Brazil, be part of CONAR, follow the Consumer Protection Code, and be supervised by the national financial system. For him, migration to the regulated market is the best way to protect consumers.

He also defended the regulation of technology providers to combat the illegal market: “The best global practice shows that proper regulation of these providers is the most effective way to fight the illegal market, since these same providers might be supporting both legal and illegal platforms. If regulated, they would be required to serve only the legal market.”

Advertising

Heloísa Diniz, Director of Regulatory and Government Relations at the Association of Bets and Fantasy Sports, stated that the illegal online betting market—representing about 50%—constitutes unfair competition because it doesn’t pay taxes, doesn’t protect consumers, and engages in predatory advertising.

To address this, she called for strengthening regulatory and enforcement bodies.

“We’re discussing banning advertising for the regulated sector and imposing additional restrictions—while illegal market ads run freely on digital platforms with no oversight,” she said.

She also mentioned that regulated betting companies can’t publish their apps because app stores block them.

Bacelar and other participants lamented the absence of a representative from the Central Bank in the debate.

Source: Agência Câmara de Notícias