The government has released a list of 95 companies eligible to continue operating 198 sports betting and online gaming houses in Brazil during the transition period until January 1, 2025. The Secretary of Prizes and Bets (SPA) presented the list on Tuesday night. Sites not on the list can no longer offer bets nationally and from October 11 will begin to be taken down,
The Secretary of Prizes and Bets (SPA), Regis Dudena, even stated that the list of bets that will continue operating was difficult to compile and that “it will only be released when we are sure”.
This certainty arrived around 9 PM this Tuesday (2). One of the challenges was the presentation in the Betting Management System of the corporate names and not the brands and domains to be used by the companies that registered in Sigap. The secretary had to link each corporate name to the brands and domains before finalizing the list.
In total, 95 companies, representing 198 sports betting and online gaming sites, are on the list released by the SPA. Additionally, the secretary sent a letter to the 26 states and the Federal District asking them to send the lists of companies authorized at the state level.
The information sent by the federal units up to the time of the list's release, has already been included in a supplementary list.
The difficulty in delaying the release of the list was not limited to identifying and linking corporate names with domains. A federal court injunction suspending SPA's ordinances also left the government anxious about determining the blocking of sites of companies that did not apply for a license.
The decision to block sites not on the list still depends on an assessment by the Ministry of Finance, the Secretary of Prizes and Bets, and the Attorney General's Office, due to a preliminary injunction issued by the Federal Court of the 1st Region, granted to Loterj and which suspends ordinances regulating sports betting and online gaming in Brazil.
With the judicial measure, the Ministry of Finance may have to wait for an appeal from the Attorney General's Office to determine the blocking of sites not listed by the Secretary of Prizes and Bets.
Regarding this issue, Fernando Haddad said that “it makes no sense for a state to have a national lottery”, while the federal government regulates the sector nationwide. Just as it has been acting in front of the Justice, the Ministry of Finance will continue working to overturn the possibility of Rio de Janeiro licensing betting houses to operate nationwide.
For Fernando Haddad, “one has to be in Rio de Janeiro to play in a virtual lottery of Rio de Janeiro and not in another state”. The minister also admitted the difficulty of the government delivering to the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) a list of irregular bets. “We are not able to scan the entire internet in a short time”, said Haddad.
The sites that are not on the list released by the Treasury can no longer offer bets, nationally. They will remain online, for the next ten days, only to facilitate the request by bettors for the return of the money deposited in their names with these companies.
From October 11, these sites will begin to be taken down, with the help of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel). Even after this date, it will continue to be the responsibility of the site operators to ensure the means for bettors to withdraw the deposits they are entitled to.
Source: GMB
