Brazilian ministry of finance receives 113 online betting license applications, surpassing market expectations

Within 24 hours, the Ministry of Finance's Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA-MF) received 113 requests for authorisation from 108 companies to operate fixed-odds betting. These first companies, which have registered with the Ministry of Finance's Betting Management System (Sigap), will receive responses in 2024 and, if approved, will be able to operate when the regulated betting market opens on 1 January 2025.

If they all comply with the rules set out in the regulations, the MF could raise up to R$3.4 billion this year from the payment of licences alone. It is estimated that around 220 sites will be able to offer bets in an authorised and regulated way, since each application can offer up to three brands (popularly known as bets), depending on the company's commercial option. The registration period is still open, but new applications will be analysed within 180 days, in accordance with the general rule.

According to the Ministry of Finance's Secretary for Prizes and Betting, Regis Dudena, the number of applications exceeded even market estimates, which indicates the confidence and legal certainty of the Ministry's regulation, and places Brazil as one of the largest regulated markets in the world. He considers the authorisation requests to be a key process in building a safer betting market for society and the national economy.

For the Ministry of Finance's Secretary for Prizes and Betting, Regis Dudena, the number of applications exceeded even market estimates, which indicates the confidence and legal certainty of the Ministry's regulation, and places Brazil as one of the largest regulated markets in the world. He considers the authorisation requests to be a key process in building a safer betting market for society and the national economy.

‘The closure of the initial phase of the authorisation process, with this significant number of applications, was a success. The Ministry of Finance has been working intensively on regulation and has established strict criteria to protect punters and rules for the market. The sector responded positively, showing that there are many serious companies that intend to operate in compliance with the legislation, which is the best way to meet the personal, social and economic needs of the activity,’ says Dudena.

From next year, with the end of the legal compliance period, which runs until 31 December, only companies that are authorised and comply with all the regulations will be able to operate in Brazil. Companies without authorisation will be in an illegal situation and will be banned from the market, including advertising and sponsorship.

‘The period without rules is coming to an end. With the conclusion of the adaptation phase, the market has already understood that there is only one way to operate nationally in Brazil: in compliance with the law and the rules, respecting people and with authorisation from the Ministry of Finance,’ stressed the MF's Secretary for Prizes and Betting.

Among the rules that must be respected are those relating to the means of payment of winnings, the fight against money laundering and responsible gambling, with mechanisms to protect gamblers against problems associated with gambling, over-indebtedness and fraud. Authorised companies must be incorporated in Brazil, in accordance with national legislation.

All approved brands must operate only on sites with the ‘.bet.br’ domain, which will indicate legal and regulated environments, the only ones that will provide national security for gamblers, guaranteeing, in compliance with the law, their identification, as well as prohibiting access to children and adolescents. 

The authorised companies will be monitored and inspected by the SPA-MF, using its own system, developed for this purpose. Brazil will be one of the few markets in the world to develop a system that will receive direct information on betting-related activities. This database will allow the government to monitor various types of activity, from the behaviour of bettors to the evolution of the volume of funds wagered, lost and prizes paid out, as well as helping to control the calculation bases for tax purposes.