Central Bank of Brazil President seeks additional power over illegal operators

Galípolo underlined how the SPA currently oversees which bets are authorized, but that he believes the Central Bank should have more involvement throughout the regulatory process.

During an official address to Brazil’s Parliamentary Inquiry Commission, the country’s Central Bank President Gabriel Galípolo requested additional regulatory oversight regarding illegal betting operators. 

Currently, the Central Bank is unable to step in and mediate betting transactions, only holding the authorization to inform a financial institution of when it can no longer accept bets while being formally advised by the SPA.

“I know that the Senators are well aware of this, but it is important to start by highlighting that the Central Bank of Brazil does not have the legal authority to monitor or apply sanctions for transactions involving fixed-odds betting carried out with legal entities that are not authorised to carry out this activity. There is no authority attributed to the Central Bank in Law No. 14,790 of 2023,” Galípolo said. 

“Without specific regulations for the Central Bank, there is no authority for supervision and sanctioning on our part. Therefore, our activities do not include the control or regulation of specific operations related to fixed-odds betting provided for in the aforementioned law and its subsequent regulation.”

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Galípolo also shared his belief that the growth of Brazil’s black market in gambling could be attributed to the long delay in legislative approval for sports betting by Congress.

While stating he is a firm believer the Central Bank should have more involvement throughout the regulatory process, Galípolo acknowledged that the SPA currently holds oversight to determine which bets are authorized.

Kirk Geller

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