Brazil identifies 48 betting accounts with over R$ 500,000 each amid money-laundering probe

The federal government says it found 48 accounts at betting operators with balances above R$ 500,000 each, a pattern it now treats as suspicious enough to merit a police review. For PSPs and gambling operators, the bigger issue is not the headline number itself; it is the combination of frozen balances, sudden volume shifts, and a government actively pushing traffic away from licensed platforms.

1. Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Friday (2/10) that the government identified 48 betting accounts with more than R$ 500,000 in each one. He said the balances stand out from the normal pattern seen in the sector and may indicate money laundering, while stressing that not all such accounts are necessarily involved.
2. Durigan said the federal government and the Federal Police will investigate the unusual movements to determine whether crimes were committed. In his words, there is activity that “discrepa do grosso das contas” — it deviates from the bulk of the accounts that held betting funds and may be subject to investigation.
3. Since President Lula’s government banned sports betting houses and online casinos on Friday (25/9) through a provisional measure, total balances in accounts at legal operators fell from R$ 2.1 billion to R$ 1.4 billion, according to Durigan. Daily transactions, which had reached R$ 600 million, dropped to zero.
4. In parallel, the government ordered the takedown of 10,000 illegal sites after the ban took effect, Durigan said. He added that removals happen within hours and that simultaneous actions across multiple fronts are meant to block Brazilian users from accessing unregulated platforms.
5. A task force made up of the Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Sports Ministry and other agencies is also targeting digital influencers and messaging groups that promote betting. The Justice Ministry estimates that 3.5 million people stopped being exposed to betting ads as a result of these actions.

The Banco Central has started tracking a migration of Pix transactions into other sectors of the economy, which matters for payment routing and monitoring. Durigan said there has been a decline in Pix and that the government is studying where the money is going, with the current indication that it is moving into other parts of the economy.

Betters have until Monday (5/10) to withdraw funds deposited on the platforms. After that deadline, refunds will be handled by banks and, as a last resort, by Caixa Econômica Federal.

The provisional measure was published nine days before the elections and clashes with the government’s own regulatory framework that took effect in 2024. Industry companies have filed a request with the Supremo Tribunal Federal to overturn the measure and restore the previous authorizations, warning that customers may migrate to illegal platforms.