The regulated betting market: the multidisciplinary work by entities to combat irregular practices

After years of legislative processing and significant advances, especially during the year 2024, the (long-awaited) regulation of the fixed-odds betting market in Brazil took place in early January.

The sector, which has already been expanding greatly in recent years, promises exponential growth in 2025. The Brazilian Association of Lottery Games ( ANJL), for example, estimated that legalized bookmakers should contribute more than R$ 20 billion in taxes and fees to the Federal Revenue Service throughout the year. This estimate takes into account the number of operators, the volume of bets and the tax rates applicable to the sector.

As promised by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA), at the end of December 2024, the names of the companies considered able to operate in the regulated market were published. Initially, licenses were granted to 14 companies on a permanent basis, representing 30 betting sites and online casinos. Another 52 companies received temporary authorization to operate and will have an additional deadline to send pending documentation, these represent another 109 sites operating in the country.

Already resulting from the movement to regularize the sector, the Brazilian Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) together with SPA entered into an important Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) to enable the blocking of sites that are not authorized to operate fixed-odds betting in Brazil in a quick and coordinated way.

The ACT, celebrated on December 9, 2024, is a good example of multidisciplinary action between regulatory entities and demonstrates the engagement of various sectors together with betting. In principle, the ACT will be effective for 24 months and may be extended by the parties.

Among the commitments assumed by SPA and Anatel in the ACT is the preparation of a work plan with the operational procedures and communication flows to be adopted.

Currently, the SPA is responsible for identifying irregular sites and determining their blocking based on administrative analyses. Decisions are then sent to Anatel, which ensures the sending and execution of the orders to internet service providers.

According to information from Anatel, SPA has already sent the agency three lists containing domains of illegal bookmakers, resulting in the blocking of more than 5 irregular domains between October and December 2024. This data underscores the relevance of this agreement to improve the processes for detecting and blocking unauthorized operators' websites.

To reinforce measures to combat the illegal practice of betting, Anatel has actively cooperated with authorities from various spheres. Along these lines, on December 17, 2024, the Superintendent of Inspection of the agency participated in a deliberative meeting of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Bets (CPIBETS) installed in the Federal Senate to assess the impacts of the growth of sports betting in Brazil and investigate possible illegal practices by actors in the betting sector. On the occasion, as a technical guest, the Superintendent proposed the change of Anatel's legal competences and the modernization of the Brazilian Internet Bill of Rights so that there is civil and administrative liability of internet connection and application providers that do not comply with court or administrative orders.

It is worth mentioning that with the regulation of bets in force, since January 1st, all authorized companies must comply with the rules established by the Ministry of Finance, including obtaining registration and holding the respective bet.br so that their operation takes place exclusively on sites dedicated to the sector. Even if some ".com.br" domains are in operation during the adaptation and migration period,  they will not be able to offer bets to customers with the advent of the regulated market, as required by Normative Instruction SPA/MF No. 11 of November 4, 2024, which deals with the regulation of the registration of the domain "bet.br" for use in electronic channels offered by agents operating the lottery modality of fixed-odds betting.

The Senate's move with CPIBETS is a good example of what is expected to be seen in the coming months, especially in relation to legislative activity and control bodies, which will increasingly work together with the Ministry of Finance and SPA with the aim of enforcing the sector's newborn regulation.

Authors: Marcela Ejnisman, partner Telecommunications practice; Caio de Souza Loureiro, Adriana Ferreira Tavares and Isabella Nogueira Lopes, partner and associates of Gaming & E-sports practice, respectively.