The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA) has announced to the appropriate authorities that it has granted full approvals to 71 companies seeking federal online gambling licenses.
This news was shared by SPA President Regis Dudena, who updated the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Bets regarding the businesses that satisfied all necessary criteria prior to the market launch on January 1, 2025.
Dudena revealed that by December 11, 71 out of 114 submitted applications had been approved by the SPA.
Licensed businesses are required to pay an upfront concession fee of R$30 million (€5 million) within a 30-day timeframe.
Starting January 1, 2025, these Bet licenses will be valid for five years, permitting up to “three skins” per license. Approved businesses must have a registered office in Brazil, with their corporate accounts verified by the Bank of Brazil.
Updating the CPI, Dudena assured, “Seventy-one companies have already been notified by the Ministry of Finance, and they have 30 days from the notification to fulfill these final requirements. Out of these, 16 have fulfilled the fee payment. Today, 16 companies have contributed a total of R$480 million in licensing fees to the Ministry of Finance.”
**SPA ensures all licenses satisfy the required criteria**
The SPA has committed to ensuring that all approved companies have passed Bets’ comprehensive four-stage review, addressing IT security protocols, licensing standards, payment processing systems, anti-money laundering (AML) measures, game regulations, and responsible gambling practices.
The formation of the SPA was announced in February 2024 as part of the Ministry of Finance’s initiative “to oversee and report on gambling activities and to supervise licensed operators’ market conduct.”
Conflicts between the Ministry of Finance and Congress’s Centrao Block led to the resignation of José Francisco Manssur, previously appointed as the Ministry’s President of the SPA. Following a period of political negotiations, Regis Dudena was appointed to lead the SPA.
Dudena recently stated that the SPA is approaching the final stages of its licensing process for Bets, which began in April with the issuance of initial technical guidelines on payments and system authorizations.
In final directives, Brazil’s telecom authority, Anatel, has partnered with the SPA and Federal Police to close 5,283 illegal betting websites in a series of operations, with more to come.
**Dudena: Compliance is mandatory from day one**
Ahead of Bets’ launch, the SPA is working with relevant authorities to prevent fraud through measures to block the use of fake taxpayer IDs (CPFs) for account creation. A new system will be introduced by January 2025 to ensure accurate identification, aiding effective regulatory enforcement.
Dudena emphasized the SPA’s directive that all licensees must fully comply with Bets’ market rules from the outset, stating, “Starting January 1, all companies operating in Brazil will need to be Brazilian entities established under Brazilian law. We will identify their shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries, and executives, ensuring complete oversight of both legal entities and individuals involved in this activity.”
In 2025, further revisions in the Bets market are anticipated as the Senate will decide on the potential implementation of selective taxes (sin taxes) on individual gambling activities. This consideration follows a proposal by Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), the Rapporteur for the Federal Tax Reform Project, suggesting that “gambling activities could be considered under new criteria for selective taxes.”