On Friday, Brazil initiated the closure of over 2,000 betting sites, including those sponsoring popular football clubs such as Corinthians and other first division teams. This move is part of a broader effort by the government to regulate online gambling amid what Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has described as a betting “pandemic.”
Since the legalization of sports betting in 2018, Brazil’s online gambling sector has operated with minimal regulation and oversight, leading to rampant issues such as fraud and money laundering. The new regulations, set to take effect in January, aim to establish a more controlled environment for online gambling, with a focus on user protection and preventing illegal activities. Key provisions include:
- Banning minors from betting.
- Enforcing strict compliance for gambling sites, which must register to operate legally.
Haddad stated, “Anyone who is not regularized, or in the process of being regularized, is being taken off the air.”
The Finance Ministry has identified 2,040 “suspicious domains” that it has directed the telecommunications regulatory agency, Anatel, to block. Among those on the blacklist is Esportes da Sorte, a site known for sponsoring Corinthians and several other clubs like Athletico Paranaense, Bahia, and Grêmio de Porto Alegre.
As part of this crackdown, these betting sites will be prohibited from advertising, which includes sponsorship deals with sports teams, signaling a significant shift in how gambling is approached in Brazil as the government seeks to regulate an industry that has operated largely unchecked for years.