The Minister of Finance for Bonuses and Betting, Regis Dudena, informed the authorities that the application process for authorization has started before the official market launch on January 1, 2025.
In a meeting with the Parliamentary Investigation Committee (CPI), Dudena confirmed in a statement: "The Ministry of Finance has notified 71 companies, which must meet these final requirements within 30 days of notification. Among them, 16 have already paid the licensing fees. Today, we have 16 companies that have paid a total of 480 million Brazilian Reais (81.1 million US dollars) in licensing fees to the Ministry of Finance."
These companies can only be recognized as officially authorized to operate after paying the necessary fees.
Dudena continued to explain that SPA is adopting a rigorous four-stage review to ensure that security protocols, payment processing, anti-money laundering (AML) measures, gaming rules, and responsible gambling practices are all legal before any license is issued.
To ensure safety before the market launch, SPA has signed an agreement with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block websites offering illegal gambling in the country. Since its launch on October 11, more than 5,200 websites have been shut down.
Dudena continued, "Since we have intensified our efforts against illegal activities, Anatel has become a very important partner for us. Now, with ACT, this relationship will proceed in a more fluid and effective manner, which is a benefit for the country in addressing opportunistic and malicious groups in the gambling industry."
It is worth noting that although the list of 71 authorized companies has not yet been published, the complete list of applicant companies can be found on the Brazilian Ministry of Finance website, including Kaizen Gaming, Betfair, and Meridian Gaming.
Anatel President Carlos Baigorri stated: "This agreement will make the blocking process more flexible. We know that preventing Brazilians from accessing illegal gambling sites is a daunting task, and for this reason, cooperation is crucial for telecommunications service operators to implement blocks in the shortest possible time.
"As a national agency, we have the responsibility to combat illegal activities that lead to unfair competition and disrespect our legislation."
TaDa Gaming has confirmed that it has obtained certification from Gaming Associates (GA) laboratory before potentially launching products in Brazil, which will continue to develop based on its recent expansion in Italy through a partnership with Pixelo.
