Key Takeaways
- Ordinance No. 17.66 from Brazil’s Finance Ministry targets unauthorized sports betting platforms
- Banks and payment processors get 24-hour window to terminate services to flagged operators after official notification
- Non-compliance results in shared tax responsibility for revenue generated by unlicensed gambling activities
- Since partnership with ANATEL began in late 2024, authorities have shut down more than 50,000 illegal websites
- A unified exclusion system has processed over 650,000 player requests to block gambling access
Brazilian authorities have implemented stringent measures designed to disconnect unlicensed gambling operators from payment processing networks. On June 17, 2026, the Finance Ministry unveiled Ordinance No. 17.66, establishing protocols for imposing shared tax obligations on financial service providers that maintain transactional relationships with unauthorized betting platforms.
This regulatory action reinforces provisions contained within Complementary Law No. 224/2025, legislation crafted to enhance regulatory control over Brazil’s legitimate wagering industry.
According to the directive, financial service providers must terminate all incoming transactions with identified illegal operators within a 24-hour period following official notification from federal regulators. Institutions that fail to comply assume joint responsibility for outstanding tax obligations tied to the unauthorized operator.
Official notifications will contain comprehensive identification details about the unlicensed entity and specifics regarding fixed-odds betting transactions requiring blockage.
Entities Subject to Regulation
The regulatory framework encompasses traditional banking institutions, licensed payment facilitators, and payment network administrators. Additionally, individuals and companies engaged in marketing or promotional activities for unlicensed betting operations may face shared tax consequences.
The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) works in tandem with the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) to manage the notification infrastructure.
According to government officials, severing financial access channels represents one of the most powerful enforcement mechanisms available to eliminate illegal operators from the marketplace and channel activity toward authorized platforms.
Track Record of Regulatory Actions
This enforcement campaign has been gaining momentum over recent months. Following a collaborative framework established with Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) in October 2024, regulatory bodies have successfully disabled access to over 50,000 unauthorized domain addresses.
Authorities have additionally suspended 780 social media profiles, removed 306 promotional advertisements, and eliminated 190 unlicensed applications connected to illegal gambling operations.
Development is underway on a virtual laboratory designed to accelerate the identification and blocking of unauthorized platforms as they appear online.
From the consumer protection perspective, Brazil introduced a nationwide self-exclusion system in December 2025. The platform enables individuals to restrict their access across all licensed operators through a single submission. To date, the system has processed more than 650,000 exclusion applications.
Companion Decree Introduces Account Freezing Mechanisms
Complementing the ordinance, authorities released Decree No. 13.033 on June 18, 2026. This decree establishes procedures for freezing financial accounts associated with unauthorized operators and defines information-sharing protocols to facilitate asset seizure proceedings benefiting the federal treasury.
Collectively, these regulatory instruments mark Brazil’s most recent effort to strengthen compliance frameworks and safeguard the integrity of its licensed betting sector.
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