As of October 1st, the Ministry of Finance has determined that only bets in compliance with law no. 14.790/2023 are allowed to operate in the country, leading companies such as certifiers and online payment platforms (fintechs) specific to this market to start gaining ground. Under regulation, they can help authorities identify fraud and money laundering, in order to ensure lawful gaming.
A physical world bingo game has simple rules: the prize is announced in advance, cards are distributed indiscriminately, balls are drawn live, while the player scans the lines, columns, and diagonals of the piece of paper in their hands, hoping to be the first in the group to shout "bingo!".
In the world of online betting, the bets, the complexity is much greater. Between those who "distribute the cards" and those eager to "complete a square", there are at least a dozen companies besides the operator (the bet), such as the game developer and the platform where it is hosted.
With the determination of the Ministry of Finance to only allow operations in the country from October 1st, bets that comply with law no. 14.790/2023, companies like certifiers and online payment platforms (fintechs) specific to this market begin to gain space.
Through the control exercised by these companies, it is possible to identify, for example, suspicious plays like those involving the player Bruno Henrique, from Flamengo, investigated by the Federal Police for a possible match manipulation that benefited relatives.
The work of the certifier is to ensure that at least 85% of the money wagered returns to the players (a rule called RTP, "return to player") and that the game is invulnerable to fraudsters. The payment platforms, in turn, must ensure transparency for the player and for the regulatory institutions of the Central Bank.
During registration at the bet, the player needs to confirm their data to ensure that the game is not used for money laundering. It is forbidden to use CPFs of deceased people, minors, or politically exposed personalities, such as those holding public offices.
The account from which the money for the bets comes must be the same that will receive the prize. Each user can register only one account, so that the bet can attest to the origin of the money.
The two largest associations of bets in the country – National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) – proposed the use of facial recognition, to verify if it is the registered bettor who plays each bet. The measure is not required by the Ministry's regulations and would be a sign of the sector's firm stance against possible illegalities.
"Regulation has opened the doors for serious companies that work with gaming abroad to come to Brazil, because now the rules are clear", says Leonardo Baptista, CEO of Pay4Fun, an online gaming payment platform that obtained authorization from the Central Bank to work as a fintech. He cites American groups MGM and Caesars as examples.
Baptista criticizes the vacuum created since the legalization of games in 2018 until the creation this year of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), linked to the Ministry of Finance, which will enforce law no. 14.790. In this scenario of rapid and disordered growth, bettors have lost assets and become addicted.
"Nobody is going to get rich from gambling, that doesn't exist. The influencer who goes on social media to say that they got a Porsche with bets deserves to be arrested", he states. "Gambling is for fun, like going to the movies or watching a football match".
Baptista describes the path of the money from the bets, within a legalized world. About 95% of the operations are via Pix, the rest is bank transfer. The money leaves the user's bank and enters the account of the payment platform, which notifies the operator. The bet places the amount in the user's account, called a transactional account.
"The money is deposited with us. Every day, we are required by the Central Bank of Brazil to close [the accounts of the bets] and buy the balance in National Treasury securities", he says.
After the game, if the user loses, the balance between losses and gains belongs to the bet, which contacts the payment platform stating where it wants to receive this balance. "If the money is to be sent abroad, it goes through the exchange bank and pays IOF".
On the site, each player, in turn, must have access to their own information in the so-called graphic account. There, they can consult:
1. History of the last 36 months of financial contributions and withdrawals, the values of the bets made, and the prizes received.
2. Value of open bets (related to games that have not yet concluded).
3. Available balance —this amount must be delivered to the player, in case of withdrawal, within a maximum of 72 hours.
A bet works with more than one fintech. Executives from the betting market say they prefer to hire several, to avoid problems. "For any error, the player switches sites", says the executive of marketing and product at EstrelaBet, Renan Cavalcanti. "We work with three payment services to have a resilience system".
Among the certifiers, one of the largest is the American GLI, founded 35 years ago. "Our presence is global", says Valter Delfraro, executive of government relations and business development at GLI in Brazil.
The company functions as a technical audit, to verify if the game complies with all the norms of the country's legislation – hence the activity is called "laboratory". "We have 24 laboratories around the world, with 1,500 employees", states Delfraro. The certifier must be hired by the operator itself, by the game developer, and by the platform.
"To certify that the RTP of a game is 85%, for example, it is necessary to simulate millions of plays, and at that moment we use automation. But the verification of the legislator's requirements, whether they are met or not, is done by an engineer, who will test the platform", says Delfraro.
Suspicion of money laundering links Bet to Coaf
According to the regulation, operators must have a compliance channel (compliance with legislation) linked to the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), an agency linked to the BC, in order to report possible indications of money laundering.
The architecture against money laundering prevention is the same as that of circular no. 3.978 from the Central Bank, according to partner at Demarest Lawyers Fabio Braga. "The Ministry of Finance, very appropriately, instead of reinventing the wheel, simply delegated to the Central Bank itself the task of regulating this market".
"The payment institutions that enter this business will do everything right, because it is very easy for the Central Bank to revoke the authorization", says Wagner Martin, vice-president of Veritran, a company that provides security and identity confirmation services for banks, and now, for bets.
In addition to verifying identity, the payment platforms will have to consult the client's income information with the banks and their credit score with bureaus, such as Serasa. From this data, each transaction must undergo a risk analysis for infractions – in addition to money laundering, financing of terrorism, and sports manipulation.
"The Brazilian market of fintechs must adapt quickly, because it already starts from a great experience in preventing bank fraud", states Martin.
If the transaction falls under the scrutiny of Coaf, the agency can seek the authorities. Control depends on effective supervision by the Ministry of Finance. "It is a market that will need a lot of these regulatory guidelines to develop well, avoiding overexposure of the consumer to indebtedness and criminal activities", states Braga.
The Ministry of Finance, by instituting the separation of players' accounts, aimed to make clear which money belongs to the bettor and which to the betting house.
With this, the player is protected from the risk of losing their money in case the bet enters judicial recovery or declares bankruptcy. The site is also prevented from buying stocks or making investments with the player's money.
The separation of assets also simplifies the collection of taxes by the government, according to lawyer specialized Pedro Porcaro, from the office Madrona Fialho Lawyers. "It was a design very thought out in terms of collection, which becomes easier, with all operations digitalized".
Source: Folha
