In the fight against illegal betting, the government shut down 11 websites and plans an awareness campaign.

With over 100 days of regulation for betting companies, Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA) at the Ministry of Finance, believes that, after four years without rules for the sector, Brazil has achieved "well-made regulation that requires companies to comply with the rules."

“Our regulations are well-structured and require companies to comply with the rules, with active oversight. We are conducting cycles of inspection and monitoring, as in the case of entry bonuses, and monitoring the behavior of influencers,” he states in an exclusive interview with EXAME.

Since January, only betting sites authorized by the Ministry of Finance can operate in Brazil, with specific rules, such as the use of the bet.br domain. Currently, 73 companies are authorized, totaling 162 legalized sites, in addition to another 8 companies operating by court order, linked to 18 brands.

“We are on the right track, implementing effective controls. The work of inspecting, monitoring and punishing deviations will be continuous from now on,” he says.

According to Dudena, the main challenge is combating illegality. The secretary says the strategy involves three fronts: taking down illegal domains, restricting advertising on social media, and financial strangulation.

“The first is the continuous takedown of illegal domains. This is a difficult and costly job, but necessary. We have already taken down more than 11 websites since the beginning of the year,” he says.

To raise public awareness about the risks of gambling, Dudena says the government plans to conduct advertising campaigns. A legal mechanism allows the federal government to require companies to take action on its behalf, but public campaigns should also be carried out, according to the secretary.

“We want to clarify what betting is, the difference between legal and illegal companies, and promote the protection of bettors' mental health. We are working on this and will have news soon,” he says.

Dudena says he still doesn't have estimates on the size of the market or a definition of compliance with the Supreme Federal Court's (STF) decision regarding bets made with Bolsa Família cards. The secretary also detailed the government's view on issues under discussion in Congress, such as the prohibition of advertising and the legalization of physical casinos.

See the full interview with Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Betting.

How is the government observing these more than 100 days of regulation? What has been possible to implement as defined by the law, and what still needs to be adapted?

Some things are, from our point of view, quite positive. We've stopped talking about things in the future in terms of "there will be rules or we are creating rules." Now, all the rules are in effect. We have well-known companies providing a regulated service. The challenges, from this point on, branch out in my mind into two fronts. There's one front, which is the regulated market, which needs to be monitored, inspected, and we need to deal with any non-compliance, including for the purpose of sanctions. And there's a second challenge that has become quite significant: combating illegality.

Could you elaborate a bit more on the fight against illegality?

Yes, in combating illegality we have a role to play in raising awareness, perhaps that's the best word. The population needs to understand that if you want to gamble, you need to know what gambling is. It's not an investment, it's a way of spending money for entertainment. I believe this message needs to be more widely disseminated. And, if you are going to gamble, you should look for an authorized betting site, which is the only place where bettors will have their mental and financial health protected. In parallel, what we have been doing is actually attacking illegality. We have at least three relevant fronts. The first is the continuous takedown of illegal domains. This is a difficult and costly job, but necessary. We have already taken down more than 11 sites since the beginning of the year.

You mentioned the cost, both operational and financial, of carrying out these actions. Could you explain that in more detail?

The cost is indirect, so to speak. It's not a direct extra expense, but the need to allocate people to monitor and identify companies and their service providers. In the case of public administration, resources are scarce, so it's not just an additional expense, but also the time and teams needed to do this work.

I understand. And what is the second measure?

The second front is the relationship with social networks and digital platforms. We seek to have them implement legal and regulatory restrictions to prevent the presence of these illegal entities on their platforms. The National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (CONAR) has been a relevant partner in advertising self-regulation. With this, the links in the advertising chain block illegality.

And the last one?

And the third front is the financial one, which involves a prohibition on financial and payment institutions providing services to illegal websites, as determined by law. We issued a regulation to complement the law approved last year. We are seeking to have Financial and Payment Institutions (IFIPs) monitor and report the existence of these websites to us. These three fronts together are expected to strangle these companies that insist on providing this service illegally.

Experts and regulated betting houses claim that the main way to stifle illegal betting is through financial means. What's your view on this issue?

I wouldn't underestimate the importance of domain name takedowns. That's a huge challenge for them. They need to redo advertising campaigns, change their links, which is complicated and demotivating. Now, the financial aspect is a key factor. If financial institutions stop providing services to illegal betting sites, then yes, they will have real difficulties operating. These measures are complementary. The financial aspect, especially, can be quite effective, as profit is the main motivation for these companies.

Is it already possible to stimulate the size of the Brazilian betting market?

Regarding market segmentation, we don't yet have an exact number; we're working with some monitoring tools, but we're still in the phase of taking down websites before we can accurately measure the market. In our responsible gaming regulations, when addressing advertising, we discuss, for example, the need for betting sites to reinforce responsible gaming practices. It also includes the requirement to address age restrictions of 18 years or older.

And regarding the judicialization, were you expecting that? How is the Ministry acting in these cases?

We always expect litigation. Our role is to provide information to the judiciary. We are quite convinced that we did not commit any irregularities in our decisions, and that the companies whose applications were rejected complied with the requirements. Lawsuits regarding injunctions have been minimal compared to the number of rejections and withdrawals. We believe that most of these disputes will be reviewed by higher courts, which will better understand the context of regulation and the protection of bettors. Betting in Brazil is a public service, and the decision of who can or cannot provide this service is discretionary, based on the public interest.

How does the Secretariat plan to raise public awareness about the risks of gambling? Will it be through government campaigns or by requiring operators to do so? We are already seeing gambling establishments themselves running campaigns with the motto of responsible gambling.

These changes are not spontaneous; they respond directly to regulation. I believe that companies have understood that excessive advertising can generate negative consequences, including legislative ones. CONAR (Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Council) has been an important partner, regulating the entire advertising chain. We also have the possibility of requiring operators to conduct institutional awareness campaigns on our behalf [government], which is being planned. We also intend to carry out public awareness campaigns, with the utmost care necessary. We want to clarify what a bet is, the difference between legal and illegal companies, and promote the protection of the mental health of bettors. We are working on this and will have news soon.

Regarding the issue of advertising, what are your thoughts on the ban on gambling advertising that is being discussed in Congress?

Our position is clear: we respect judicial decisions and the competence of the Legislative branch. Congress is sovereign to decide what should or should not be permitted. As a regulatory body, it is up to us to indicate the possible effects of each action. Our concern with the advertising ban is that, by prohibiting it entirely, the population will lose the criteria for identifying authorized companies. Advertising is one of the ways to distinguish legal companies. If this ban is implemented, we will need to create other mechanisms to help bettors identify authorized operators, as we already do with the “.bet.br” domain.

Another topic under discussion in Congress is the legalization of land-based casinos. What is the government's view on this discussion?

Regarding the legalization of land-based casinos, the bill currently under consideration defines that the regulatory authority will lie with the Ministry of Finance, and an amendment has already been made to include this responsibility [SPA]. Our expectation is that, once approved, the bill will be regulated by the Secretariat. For us, the most important thing is to ensure that any new market, such as casinos, is rigorously regulated before it begins operating. The experience from 2019 to 2022 taught us that we cannot rush the process. We need time to create clear and detailed rules to guarantee a safe and well-structured market.

And what about the issue of gambling and Bolsa Família (a Brazilian social welfare program)?

We are looking for ways to comply with the Supreme Federal Court's (STF) decision to prohibit the use of Bolsa Família benefits in betting establishments. As soon as we have a solution, we will announce it.

What is the overall result of all these measures?

We made a great achievement by establishing a regulated market, something that should have been done since 2019. We spent four years with nothing done, really. In 2023, the government resolved the problems with measures such as the Provisional Measure, the submission of a bill, and the creation of the Secretariat. We managed to finalize the regulation by July and combat unauthorized companies that had not yet requested authorization, especially after the turn of the year. Now, it's time to refine the execution. Our regulation is well-made and requires companies to comply with the rules, with active oversight. We are conducting cycles of inspection and monitoring, as in the case of entry bonuses, and monitoring the behavior of influencers. The problem is divided between influencers who promote illegal sites and those who, even while promoting legal sites, make prohibited claims, such as that betting guarantees easy winnings. We are on the right track, implementing effective controls. The work of inspecting, monitoring, and punishing deviations will be continuous from now on.