Brazil’s Fazenda suspends Pixbet’s federal licence over responsible gambling controls and missing documents

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has suspended the federal licence of Pixbet Soluções Tecnológicas, citing the absence of mechanisms to monitor compulsive players and the failure to submit mandatory documents. For PSPs and acquirers, the useful detail is that this is a federal action, not a blanket market shutdown: Pixbet can still operate in Rio de Janeiro and Paraná under local licences, while the company faces a daily fine of R$ 200,000 if it ignores the order.

1. The suspension was issued on Thursday, 13/8, by the Ministry of Finance through the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). The regulator said the action is meant to “ensure the safety of bettors and the regulated betting market until effective mechanisms for control, assessment and monitoring of bettors, within responsible gambling policies, are implemented and proven.”
2. The SPA’s stated grounds were twofold: no mechanisms to monitor compulsive players and the non-submission of mandatory documents to federal regulation. Pixbet’s legal defence, represented by Nelson Wilians, had not commented by the time the report closed.
3. Pixbet is estimated by H2 Gambling Capital to hold about 2% of Brazil’s sports betting market, which places it among the country’s 15 largest operators. The Farias family-controlled group, which includes Ganhei.bet, Bet da Sorte, Donald.Bet and BetpontoBet, is said to account for close to 4% of the total market.
4. The federal suspension is separate from the same-day operation by the Receita Federal and the Polícia Federal, which are investigating Pixbet over suspected money laundering involving cryptoassets and offshore companies. The SPA said the administrative sanctioning processes were already underway before the police operation.
5. The order applies only to the federal authorisation. Pixbet may continue operating in Rio de Janeiro and Paraná, where it holds local licences. As of 17:21 on Thursday, 13/8, the Pixbet website was still accessible in São Paulo. The company has 10 business days to appeal, and failure to comply triggers a daily fine of R$ 200,000.

The SPA also ordered brands linked to the Pixbet Soluções Tecnológicas CNPJ to display a notice about the punishment on their websites. The platform may remain online only so registered players can withdraw available balances, and any ongoing bets must be cancelled with the wagered amount refunded immediately. Pixbet is owned by cousins Ernildo Junior de Farias Santos and Diomar Tadeu Dantas de Farias; until 2024 it operated through an international licence tied to Pix Star Brasilian in Curaçao, where Ernildo is listed as the sole director.