SPA begins all Brazil cooperation on National Betting System

The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) will host a meeting on 4 April to begin coordination with Brazil’s federal states to establish a National Betting System.

Discussions will be led by SPA President Regis Dudena, who last week sent an invitation to the governors of Brazil’s 26 federal states to participate in discussions with the Ministry of Finance (MEF).

Dudena’s letter deemed it vital for all states to be represented in discussions for “the democratic and effective construction of a National Betting System, aiming to strengthen federative ties and improve the application of legislation relevant to fixed-odds betting in Brazil.”

The SPA seeks to create a National Betting System as a ‘federal mechanism’ to help individual states uphold Brazil’s new gambling laws, standards, and protections.

A cooperative system has been further endorsed as the best mechanism to safeguard Brazil’s new gambling regime from corruption and to protect the integrity of sports.

Furthermore, with the assistance of federal states, the SPA will aim to develop unified standards on responsible gambling and advertising. The coordination of federal states is further required for the development of Brazil’s “comprehensive gambling self-exclusion scheme”.

Noting the urgency, Dudena stated: “The establishment of a National Betting System, as the implementation of cooperative federalism, is considered a priority issue for the SPA/MF, being Project No. 08 of the SPA/MF Regulatory Agenda for the 2025/2026 Biennium.”

“It is necessary to strengthen cooperation between federative entities through coordination between the Federal Government and State Governments, promoting good practices, national minimum standards for Responsible Gambling, technical requirements for systems and games, as well as combating money laundering and ensuring sports integrity.”

Initial discussions on 4 April will begin with an update on regulatory developments since the launch of the Betting Regime on 1 January 2025, during which Dudena will present an overview of betting technical standards, safeguards, and integrity measures.

The SPA seeks to open discussions with governors on enhancing Brazil’s regulatory framework to address existing vulnerabilities in money laundering, criminality, and sports integrity.

The SPA aims to leverage the National Betting System as a strategic framework to harmonise the application of gambling laws across all federal states. By establishing clear guidelines and promoting uniform standards, the system will address inconsistencies in current state-level gambling regulations and enhance the enforcement of responsible gambling measures.

National Betting System will launch Brazil Self-Exclusion Scheme 

The creation of the National Betting System is viewed as a critical function for the development of Brazil’s National Self-Exclusion System, a measure that leads the SPA’s regulatory agenda.

In February, Dudena published the SPA regulatory agenda for 2025, prioritising the development of a national self-exclusion system for gambling and establishing new advertising and consumer safeguards.

The system will include individuals who are legally restricted from gambling, such as sports officials, athletes, referees, and minors, as well as those who have voluntarily opted for self-exclusion due to problem gambling concerns.

The SPA has initiated a technical consultation with operators, banks, local authorities, media platforms, and healthcare networks. Following the consultation, the SPA will provide a detailed project outline on self-exclusion.

By creating a unified national registry, the SPA aims to enhance the effectiveness of responsible gambling policies, providing betting operators across all states with accurate, up-to-date information to prevent unauthorised participation.