Illegal betting platforms use crypto to dodge Brazilian controls and move money abroad

Illegal betting operators in Brazil are using cryptocurrencies to receive deposits, pay users, and send funds offshore without the controls imposed on licensed brands. For PSPs and acquiring teams, the point is simple: the regulated market has hard compliance duties, while the black market ignores them and keeps moving.

1. According to Valor’s reporting, licensed betting operators in Brazil must identify users, validate CPF, monitor transactions, report suspicious activity to Coaf (Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras), and send data to the federal government’s betting management system. They are also prohibited from using digital assets. Platforms operating outside authorization from the Ministry of Finance do not follow those rules.
2. The illegal side relies on shell companies, irregular payment methods, influencers, and closed groups in messaging apps to attract bettors and move money. Crypto fits this setup because, in some cases, it bypasses traditional banking intermediation and makes it easier to keep payment flows outside the usual rails.
3. When illegal sites are blocked, operators can switch domains and resume activity within minutes, which makes monitoring harder. That matters for anyone trying to map merchant risk: the business can disappear from one URL and reappear under another before the first alert has cooled down.
4. Caio Motta, Senior Solutions Architect at Chainalysis for Latin America, said crypto is used by criminal organizations to move operations, reduce costs, and increase speed. He also said that any criminal organization using crypto gives up anonymity because transfers are recorded on the blockchain, allowing investigators to trace the history of the funds once they capture a wallet or address.
5. Chainalysis said illicit wallets received at least US$ 145,9 billion in crypto assets in 2025, up 155% from the previous year. Motta added that this still represents a small share of global activity, around 1% of illicit activity when all worldwide transactions are considered.

A compliance executive at a licensed betting house, speaking anonymously, warned that the trail has limits in practice. The excerpt cuts off before the full remark, but the basic operational issue is familiar: blockchain records are useful, until the funds move through other platforms and the clean line gets messier.