Brazil’s CMN orders banks and PSPs to block illegal betting accounts within 24 hours

Brazil’s National Monetary Council (CMN) has approved a rule that forces financial institutions and payment institutions in the Brazilian Payments System to block accounts linked to unauthorized fixed-odds betting operators within 24 hours of receiving a notification from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA). For PSPs and acquirers doing anything near Brazil’s betting market, this is now an operational deadline, not a policy discussion.

1. At an ordinary meeting on Thursday (25/6), the CMN approved Resolution No. 5320, dated 25 June 2026, which sets out the blocking of accounts and the prohibition of financial transactions involving natural and legal persons that operate fixed-odds betting without authorization under Brazilian law.
2. The legal chain matters here. Law No. 15.358, published on 24 March 2026, added Article 21-A to Law No. 14.790 of 29 December 2023 to address illegal betting operators. That was then regulated by Decree No. 13.033 of 19 June 2026, which gave the SPA authority to issue an irregularity finding when it identifies unauthorized fixed-odds betting activity by a person or company.
3. Based on that finding, the SPA will send a blocking notice to financial-market and payments institutions with information about the illegal operators. Once notified, institutions must block, within up to 24 hours, all demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, prepaid payment accounts, and registry accounts held in the name of the persons identified in the Blocking Notice.
4. After the accounts are blocked, the funds in them become unavailable. The resolution also requires institutions to reject transactions to those accounts when they detect funds intended, directly or indirectly, for betting activity.
5. Unblocking is possible only if there is a final administrative decision in favor of the account holder in forfeiture proceedings and after the blocked amounts have been converted into a judicial deposit, in line with Decree No. 13.033 of 2026. If a court decision confirms forfeiture, the institutions must close the holder’s accounts. Under the decree, forfeited funds go to the National Public Security Fund under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

The resolution enters into force on 28 August 2026. In practice, that gives banks and PSPs operating in Brazil a compliance playbook for illegal betting exposure: receive notice from the SPA, block fast, reject follow-on transactions, and be prepared to close accounts if forfeiture is confirmed.