As the sleeping giant gets ready to shake off the dust, the Ministry of Finance has announced that any operator who has not applied for a license must cease trading by October 1.
Brazil’s Prize and Betting Secretariat (SPA)—responsible for issuing permits—has received 114 applications ahead of the market’s launch on January 1, 2025.
This week’s announcement brings forward the cut-off point for unlicensed operators, initially set for December, and means only those with pending approvals may continue trading.
SPA Secretary Regis Dudena stated that the cut-off date was expedited to thwart criminal operations, separate “the wheat from the chaff,” and enhance responsible gambling efforts.
“We will maintain the adaptation period until the end of December only for those who have already demonstrated that they want to act in accordance with the law, in accordance with Brazilian rules.
“Many police operations involving companies that operate in the betting market in a criminal manner have come to light. This was the way we found to not wait until January to start separating the wheat from the chaff.
“We want to protect the mental, financial and physical health of bettors, preventing the activities of companies that use sports betting and online games as a means of committing fraud and money laundering.
Dudena continued, cautioning operators that the adaptation period—established to give Brazil’s sizable grey market a chance to apply for a license and iron out kinks in the country’s regulations—could not be used as a free-for-all to avoid compliance with laws already in place, such as anti-money laundering and financial crime regulations.
He added that the SPA considered criminal acts when evaluating license applications.
