Brazil’s Ministry of Finance makes banks, payment firms, and advertisers jointly liable for taxes tied to illegal fixed-odds betting

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has set out joint liability rules for financial institutions, payment companies, payment scheme operators, and advertisers when they facilitate or promote fixed-odds betting run by operators not authorized under federal law. For PSPs, the practical point is simple: once the ministry notifies you, the clock starts ticking.

1. Portaria MF nº 1.766 was signed by Minister Dario Durigan and published on Wednesday (17/6). It regulates provisions of Lei Complementar nº 224 and Decreto nº 12.808, both from 2025.
2. Financial institutions, payment companies, and payment scheme operators can be held jointly responsible for taxes when they allow transactions directed to fixed-odds betting with operators not authorized by federal law. That liability kicks in after formal communication from the Ministry of Finance.
3. Advertisers are treated differently: any individual or legal entity that publishes advertising for irregular operators can be held jointly liable immediately, without prior notice. In other words, the ministry does not need to give the ad network or affiliate the courtesy of a warning first.
4. Notifications to financial institutions will be issued jointly by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting and the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil. Once notified, institutions have 24 hours to take restrictive measures that prevent new transactions aimed at enabling the irregular betting activity.
5. The notice must identify the legal entity operating the irregular fixed-odds betting business, including its corporate name and CNPJ, and will also list identified financial transactions in favor of the irregular operator as well as the financial or payment institution holding the recipient account. Any other information that helps identify the operator and execute the measures may also be included when available.

The scope is broad: it covers both the operation of fixed-odds betting and the receipt of net winnings from those bets. Liability will be formalized through a tax administrative procedure, with the right to adversarial proceedings and full defense preserved under the applicable tax rules.