Bets Still Owe R$ 159 Million to Brazilian Players as Refund Deadline Nears

Brazil’s betting operators still hold a remaining balance of R$ 159 million that has to be returned to players, according to figures released by the Secom, the Presidency’s communications office, on Saturday (10). For PSPs and acquirers, the key detail is that the refund process is now tied to banking rails, player-by-player identification, and a hard cutoff that can push unreturned funds to Caixa Econômica Federal.

1. The Secom said the R$ 159 million figure is based on data supplied by the betting companies themselves. The planned reimbursement by financial institutions is due to take place by Wednesday (14/10).
2. Eight companies still have not sent the financial institutions the data on their players’ remaining balances. The Secom said the Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU) will file a court action to force them to provide the information and allow the refunds to be made.
3. On 25 September, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) announced a definitive ban on bets in the country. Along with that decision, it set the rules and deadline for players to withdraw their funds. By 5 October, when the voluntary withdrawal period ended, the amount reported was approximately R$ 1.2 billion.
4. The companies were supposed to inform the banks by 7 October of each player’s balance, broken down by CPF, together with the bank account used for deposits. The Secom said those details are required for the financial institutions to process the reimbursement. If the refund cannot be completed, the funds will be transferred from 14 October to Caixa Econômica Federal, which will handle the repayment to players.
5. According to the Secom, the data submitted by the companies cover 22.5 million players with remaining balances across 70.5 million accounts. Of those accounts, 90% have less than R$ 1 available for restitution, and 97% have less than R$ 10.

On the enforcement side, the Secom said that between 25 September and 9 October, 16,627 illegal websites were sent for blocking. The addresses are referred to Anatel and the Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil (CGI.br). On 8 and 9 October alone, another 2,979 sites were identified, and the authorities also requested the removal of 3,691 pages, profiles, channels, groups, and servers.