What Brazil’s iGaming rollout can teach Peru and other Latin American markets

Brazil launched its regulated betting market on January 1, 2025 with licensing rules, KYC, AML controls, advertising restrictions, data-sharing obligations, and Responsible Gaming requirements. The thing is, modern rules on paper do not automatically produce public trust or effective player protection in practice.

1. Brazil’s framework was built around familiar regulatory building blocks: licensing requirements, technical controls, customer identification procedures, anti-money laundering measures, advertising rules, data-sharing obligations with regulators, and specific Responsible Gaming requirements.
2. Even so, Thiago Iusim, Founder and CEO of Betshield Responsible Gaming, argues that authorization alone does not create social legitimacy. In his view, the market’s early months should have been used to explain the difference between licensed and illegal operators, the taxes the industry pays, the investment and employment it generates, the controls it must meet, and the safeguards designed to protect minors and vulnerable consumers.
3. Instead, industry communication focused heavily on brands, odds, bonuses, sponsorships, influencers, football, and customer acquisition. That built visibility, but not necessarily trust. For regulators and PSPs watching the sector, that is the part that matters: a market can look active and still fail the legitimacy test with the public.
4. Iusim says Responsible Gaming needs more than a “Play responsibly” footer. Because betting is digital, platforms collect data on deposits, wagers, sessions, and changes in user behavior, which can be used to detect risk signals and trigger preventive measures. Brazil’s framework already included obligations tied to identifying risk profiles and monitoring player behavior, but he argues implementation did not reach the level the market needed.
5. In September 2026, the federal government published a Provisional Measure that, according to the author, prohibited the operation, offering, intermediation, and advertising of fixed-odds betting. The scope and future of that decision remain part of the political and regulatory debate around Brazil’s market.

For Peru and other Latin American jurisdictions, the lesson is straightforward: passing a regulation is the easy part. Building a market that survives scrutiny from players, politicians, and banks requires enforcement, real player-protection mechanics, and a communications strategy that explains why a licensed market is safer than an illegal one.