SPA Ordinance establishes rules for financial and payment institutions to refuse accounts from illegal betting companies.
The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF) published, this Friday (March 21st), a decree that regulates how financial institutions (FIs) and payment institutions (PIs), as well as payment arrangement providers, should act in the face of illegal fixed-odds betting companies. Law 14.790/2023 , regulated by SPA/MF Decree No. 566 , prohibits these institutions from continuing illegal betting operations.
According to Article 21 of Law 14.790, financial institutions, payment processors, and payment arrangement providers cannot maintain transactional accounts for illegal operators, nor execute deposit and prize payment operations. Transactional accounts are those that hold bettors' money and prizes.
The new regulation also establishes a 24-hour deadline for financial institutions, payment processors, and payment arrangement providers to report to the SPA (Portuguese Securities Market Commission) any suspected case of a company operating fixed-odds betting illegally. In their report, they must explain why they consider the case suspicious, as well as indicate the company's CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer ID) and business name.
The Secretary of Prizes and Betting at the Ministry of Finance, Regis Dudena, recalls that in February, the SPA (Secretariat of Public Administration) had already sent 22 notifications to financial and payment institutions, warning that they were being used by illegal betting operators. “The new measure, along with the takedown of illegal websites and advertisements, will be a fundamental reinforcement in the fight against those who want to operate without authorization and for the protection of bettors, as it aims to prevent these sites, which jeopardize the economy and people's finances, from receiving financial resources, closing the net on illegal activity,” assesses the secretary.
The obligations of the new ordinance do not supersede existing legislation and regulations to combat money laundering , terrorist financing, and weapons of mass destruction, which continue to be equally applied. Ordinance SPA/MF No. 566 establishes that institutions and payment arrangement providers that fail to comply with these rules may be subject to inspection processes and, if proven, sanctions.
According to current regulations , fixed-odds betting companies with federal authorization can only offer services through websites with the extension “.bet.br”.
