Government targets banks and fintechs in crackdown on illegal gambling in the country.

In June 2026, the government announced that financial institutions would have to freeze funds belonging to betting platforms operating without authorization. This measure broadens the scope of oversight: in addition to illegal betting houses, intermediaries responsible for the sector's financial infrastructure have become direct targets of the authorities.

According to BM&C News, the Minister of Justice reported at the same time that approximately 25,2 million Brazilians were using illegal betting platforms. Between 41% and 51% of active operators in the country were operating illegally, and more than 40 websites had already been blocked by that time.

The logic behind the financial freeze is simple: to interrupt the flow of money the moment a bettor attempts to deposit funds or when the platform needs to pay out a prize. Brazilian law already mandates the blocking of deposit, payment, and registration accounts linked to unauthorized operators.

Pressure on fintechs

In March 2025, a decree from the Ministry of Finance prohibited financial and payment institutions from maintaining accounts for unauthorized betting companies. The regulation also established that suspicious transactions should be reported to the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) within 24 hours.

In July 2026, the government notified 37 fintech companies suspected of moving funds linked to 60 illegal operators. "From the moment you manage to block the money, you reduce the operational capacity of these platforms," ​​stated Leonardo Baptista, CEO of Pay4Fun, the first payment institution authorized by the Central Bank to operate in the betting segment.

Pix has become a major point of attention because it allows for instant, low-cost transfers with permanent availability. The tool facilitates both the inflow of funds into platforms and the splitting of values ​​between accounts of individuals, companies, and intermediaries. In April 2025, the president of the Central Bank informed the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Betting that the sector moved between R$ 20 billion and R$ 30 billion per month in transactions, a figure that encompasses the betting market as a whole, not just illegal operations.

Baptista recommends that bettors verify the identity of the company receiving the money on the QR code or transfer receipt and confirm that it is authorized to operate. The executive also lists warning signs:

⇒ absence of the bet.br domain , used by authorized operators;

⇒ Use of credit cards, bank slips, or crypto assets, methods that are prohibited or incompatible with the rules of the regulated market;

⇒ lack of identity verification;

⇒ failures in anti-money laundering mechanisms;

⇒ promises of “guaranteed income”.

Money tracking and laundering

The increase in reports of suspicious transactions reinforces the financial crackdown. Data from the Council for the Control of Financial Activities (COAF) records 27,6 reports related to lotteries and fixed-odds betting in 2025, compared to 928 occurrences in 2024. The jump reflects the increased attention of financial institutions to the sector, but does not necessarily indicate that all transactions were illegal.

In another COAF survey, 54 financial and payment institutions made 1.255 reports to the SPA in 2025, resulting in the closure of 550 accounts with evidence of links to irregular operators. The risk is aggravated by the use of shell companies, transit accounts, and structures created to hinder the identification of the ultimate beneficiary. Reports have also linked illegal operations to shell companies, cryptocurrencies, and money laundering mechanisms.

The responsibility of banks and fintechs expands in this context: the institution does not need to own a betting platform to come under the scrutiny of the authorities. It is enough that its services are used to receive bets, move funds, or pay users of an unauthorized operator.

Next Steps

The regulatory debate is moving towards more automated identification mechanisms. A bill approved in committee in the Chamber of Deputies provides for a specific transaction modality for betting, filters based on CNAE (National Classification of Economic Activities) and Pix keys, integration with risk directories, and alerts on users' statements.