Brazil’s SPA and Federal Revenue Service notify 37 fintechs over illegal betting flows

Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) and the Federal Revenue Service have notified 37 fintechs they suspect of moving money for illegal sportsbooks in the country. The message is straightforward: break ties with the unlicensed operators, block the transactions, or face joint liability and fines tied to the total amount processed.

1. The fintechs were flagged for processing payments for 160 bets that do not have authorization to operate in Brazil. According to the report, blocked funds will be transferred to the National Treasury, while the government has not disclosed the names of the institutions or the amounts involved to preserve the secrecy of the investigation.
2. The action follows a decree signed by Lula in June 2026, modeled on tools from Brazil’s Anti-Organized Crime Law. The rule establishes both the freezing of funds linked to illegal betting and joint liability for anyone who ignores the order.
3. No freezes have been executed yet. The Ministry of Finance has given institutions until the end of August to comply. After that, future notices will come with immediate blocking and a case sent to the Ministry of Justice, which will assess compliance and decide the applicable penalties.
4. The government says between 41% and 51% of betting operators in Brazil are illegal, serving a base of 25.2 million users. Five clandestine operators shut down shortly after the decree was published, and the executive branch also took down 54,000 websites hosting illegal betting through an agreement with Anatel, Brazil’s telecom regulator.
5. For licensed operators, the bar is high: a R$ 30 million licensing fee, a R$ 5 million financial reserve to guarantee payouts, 12% tax on net winnings, a Brazilian headquarters, and use of the “.bet” domain. The unlicensed side, naturally, skips the fee, skips the tax, and skips the responsible advertising and self-exclusion rules too.