The Brazilian government has begun an extensive crackdown on betting sites across the country, resulting in the closure of more than 2,000 platforms. Among those affected are betting companies that sponsor prominent football teams like Corinthians and several other first-division clubs. This move comes in response to sites failing to comply with new regulations that are scheduled to come into effect in January.
These regulations are designed to address serious issues such as fraud, money laundering, and user protection. For example, they will introduce stricter measures to prevent minors from engaging in betting activities. The crackdown is part of the government’s broader effort to bring greater oversight to the online gambling industry, which has largely operated without regulation.
Brazil’s Finance Minister, Fernando Haddad, has referred to the situation as a betting “pandemic” that is deeply impacting the country, which is Latin America’s largest economy. This growing issue has compelled the government to impose tighter regulations on the sector. Sports betting was legalized in Brazil in 2018, leading to a rapid expansion of the industry in a largely unregulated environment, with minimal taxes being paid by operators.
Beyond traditional sports betting, new forms of gambling have surged in popularity, including games like “Aviator,” where players bet on the flight of a virtual plane, and the online casino game “Fortune Tiger.”
One of the major platforms affected by the crackdown is Esportes da Sorte, which sponsors Corinthians, a highly popular football club in Brazil. The site also backs other teams such as Athletico Paranaense, Bahia, and Gremio de Porto Alegre. The Ministry of Finance has announced that these unregulated betting sites will not only be blocked but also prohibited from advertising and sponsoring football clubs.
Despite the shutdown of more than 2,000 betting platforms, over 200 sites have been granted permission to continue operating after agreeing to abide by the new rules.
Brazil’s central bank has revealed that approximately 24 million of the country’s 212 million residents, or about one in every nine people, engage in online gambling. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has recently expressed concern about the issue, particularly noting that betting has led many low-income Brazilians to accumulate significant debt.
Finance Minister Haddad reinforced the government’s stance, stating, “Anyone who is not regularized, or in the process of being regularized, is being taken offline.” The Ministry of Finance has identified 2,040 “suspicious domains” and has requested that the telecommunications regulatory agency, Anatel, block these sites.
