Sindibets-SP backs Brazil’s regulated betting market and warns a ban would push volume to illegal operators

The São Paulo sports betting and online gaming association, Sindibets-SP, published a manifesto on Wednesday (23/9) titled “Regular, proteger e combater o ilegal” and argued that shutting licensed platforms would not stop betting in Brazil. For PSPs, the point is blunt: if regulated operators are squeezed out, payment flows do not disappear, they move to the black market.

1. In its manifesto, Sindibets-SP said the closure of licensed companies would only shift demand to clandestine operators. The association’s core argument is that the regulated market and the illegal market are not interchangeable: the first is subject to controls, the second is not.
2. The document lists the obligations imposed on authorized operators: bettor identification, facial recognition, payment controls, anti-money laundering policies, compliance structures, monitoring of risky behavior, and specific rules for protecting children and adolescents. Sindibets-SP says these requirements are what separate the formal market from the illegal one in practical terms.
3. The association also tied regulation to jobs. According to the text, regulated betting companies support workers in technology, information security, marketing, legal, finance, data analysis, and compliance, along with a wider network of specialized service providers. Its line is straightforward: “When people talk about simply ending ‘bets,’ they are talking about ending jobs, careers, income and life projects.”
4. Instead of prohibition, Sindibets-SP called for permanent rule updates, strict enforcement against licensed companies, tougher action against illegal operators and their promoters, and against the payment methods that enable those businesses. It also pushed for more financial education, public policies for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling, responsible advertising, and ongoing dialogue with public authorities, experts, sports entities, consumers, and workers.
5. The manifesto lands amid Brazil’s broader debate over the future of sports betting regulation. The association’s warning is the one compliance teams and acquiring desks hear often enough to know by heart: banning the licensed side does not eliminate demand; it leaves the field to operators that never intended to follow the rules in the first place.