The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA) will apply new measures to identify and disrupt financial transactions linked to unlicensed operators targeting Brazil’s online gambling market.
Published on 14 September, Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2,750/2026 establishes procedures to tackle the financial flows supporting illegal gambling.
The strategy places directives on the response and cooperation of all licensed financial institutions and services such as banks, payment processors, intermediaries and online wallets handling individual transactions linked to gambling.
Financial service providers must monitor suspicious transactions, report evidence of illegal betting to SPA, comply with account-blocking notifications and introduce mechanisms to prevent further payments from directly or indirectly financing unauthorised activities.
The monitoring provisions identify several warning signs:
- Frequent small or medium-value transfers from multiple senders.
- Sudden increases in transaction volumes.
- References to betting or games in transaction descriptions.
- Repeated replacement of Pix keys, QR codes, payment links or recipient accounts.
- Financial activity inconsistent with a company’s declared business.
- Newly established companies receiving large numbers of transfers.
- Transactions concentrated in intermediary accounts.
- New accounts, third-party recipients or replacement intermediaries used following a block.
The measures require institutions to look beyond individual transactions and identify changes in payment activity that could indicate attempts to circumvent restrictions.
Duties are divided between financial providers and SPA. Institutions are responsible for analysing suspicious activity and reporting identified evidence.
SPA will issue a formal finding of irregularity identifying the operator, its websites, applications and domains, together with associated accounts and transactions.
This finding provides the basis for notifications directing financial and payment institutions to block accounts belonging to the identified operator and prevent funds from moving.
The procedures also establish cooperation channels. Communications should preferably pass through the Central Bank’s secure electronic system, while information concerning account blocks may be forwarded to the National Secretariat of Public Security (Senasp).
Carlos Renato Xavier de Resende, SPA’s Undersecretary for Monitoring and Oversight, said the ordinance strengthens coordination with participants in Brazil’s National Financial System and Brazilian Payment System.
Writing on LinkedIn, Resende argued that enforcement must reach the infrastructure enabling illegal operators to receive and transfer money, alongside action against their websites.
“Combating the illegal fixed-odds betting market also means reducing its ability to receive and move funds, and remain economically viable,” he wrote.
The implementation timetable establishes three response deadlines. From publication of the ordinance, institutions have up to 45 days to complete an analysis of suspicious activity. Where they identify evidence of illegal betting or attempts to evade restrictions, they must report the case to SPA by the next business day.
Following an SPA notification, institutions holding the identified operator’s accounts must implement the block within 24 hours. They must subsequently confirm compliance to SPA within 48 hours of the blocking action.
Finance Minister cites no redemption for Bets Law
In further developments concerning the governance of Brazil’s Bets Law regime, Finance Minister Dario Durigan has outlined his preference for tighter controls on online gambling.
Durigan has led the Ministry of Finance since March, succeeding Fernando Haddad, who stepped down to contest the governorship of São Paulo.
Addressing the taxation of betting operators, Durigan argued that the government’s approach was driven by fairness rather than simply the need to raise revenue.
“It’s not that I want to collect taxes because I need the money. I want to collect taxes for the sake of equality: if a company sells cars, it pays taxes; if it sells drinks, it pays taxes. If it’s authorised to operate, it has to pay.”
The comments come as Receita Federal reported approximately R$7.3bn (£1bn) in federal tax receipts from betting and online gambling during H1 2026. The Agency is confident that tax receipts will more than double in 2026 above R$10bn (£1.4bn) collected in 2025.
Durigan noted that he was observing developments in the Congress and Senate, as the PT government and President Lula have vowed to repeal the Bets Law, prior to the conclusion of October general election.
However, Durigan does not advocate for an immediate ban on online gambling. Instead, he reiterated his preference for “treating the activity similarly to tobacco, using tighter regulation and taxation to discourage participation”.
Though influential in the governance of the Bets regime, Durigan said the Ministry of Finance had taken no position on the future of online gambling in Brazil. MEF has no choice but to accept whatever direction lawmakers choose to re-engineer Bets laws, protections and efficiencies.
