Anatel blocks more than 18,000 illegal betting sites in Brazil

The country’s regulator reports progress in shutting down unlicensed platforms.

Brazilian authorities keep on stepping up against unlicensed betting platforms, with more than 18,000 domains blocked until now.

The initiative is coordinated through a cooperation agreement between the Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA), part of the Ministry of Finance and Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel). 

Under the arrangement, SPA identifies illegal operators and passes a list of domains and apps to Anatel, which in turn notifies internet providers to restrict their access.

Currently, 78 companies are licensed to operate fixed-odds betting in the country. However, officials acknowledged that blocking unauthorized websites alone cannot fully dismantle the illegal market, as these operators often reappear using new domains. 

For this reason, SPA has implemented additional measures, such as identifying payment institutions facilitating unregulated activity, sharing intelligence with the Federal Police and the Central Bank.

SPA also formally requested 13 institutions to provide information, leading to the closure of a further 45 companies’ accounts.

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During the same period, authorised operators reported a gross gaming revenue of BR17.4bn ($3.2bn), with the average active Brazilian bettor spending around BR983 per semester. 

Officials stressed that regulating the market allows the Government to communicate more clearly about the risks of gambling, describing it as entertainment rather than investment.

Alex Rivera

Writer

My goal is to explain how gaming, esports, and betting intersect in ways that readers can actually understand, without stripping away the entertainment that makes the space compelling.

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