Four added to list of approved betting operators in Brazil

Companies were given until 11:59pm Monday (30 September) to submit federal Brazil betting licence applications if they wished to operate between 1 October and 31 December, ahead of the full legal market launch on 1 January 2025.

This followed the publication of Normative Ordinance No 1,475, which altered regulations so that only those companies already active in the Brazil market that had filed license submission would be able to operate until the end of 2024.

The SPA posted an initial list of approved operators on Tuesday (1 October), with 89 making the cut. With three skins allowed for each licence application, 193 brands were registered as being able to remain active.

However, a number of errors were spotted in the SPA’s list. Additionally, a number of companies reportedly contacted the SPA seeking clarity on why they were excluded.

As a result, the SPA has now published an updated list, correcting errors in the names of companies and altering the tally of operators on the approved list to 93, with 205 brands now considered legal.

The SPA clarified that three of the four companies were added after they were initially excluded due to errors in its notification reception system, while the other had since had its request signed by a legal representative authorised by the company.

The four companies added and their respective brands are as follows:

Esportes da Sorte and VaideBet still absent

After betting brand Esportes da Sorte was left off the initial list of approved operators, UOL reported the company believed its exclusion was down to a formal error that it asked the SPA to rectify.

However, Esportes da Sorte is still absent and it now faces being blocked by Brazil’s national telecoms agency (Anatel) from 11 October, giving players a 10-day window to withdraw funds.

Another notable omission from the SPA’s register is VaideBet, which alongside Esportes da Sorte has been involved in recent a illegal betting and money laundering conspiracy in Brazil.

Also remaining off the list was Caixa Loterias, a federal lottery monopoly operated by state-owned financial servives entity Caixa Econômica Federal.

Having announced its intention to offer sports betting in Brazil, it applied for a licence prior to the 20 August deadline, meaning it’ll be in the first round of licence approvals. However, it hasn’t yet started its operations, and therefore it’ll have to wait until January to begin operating, should its licence be granted.

List of state-licensed betting operators also updated

Alongside the list of companies approved nationwide, the SPA also updated its register of state-authorised licensees after it previously requested details from state regulators of the brands and domains authorised to operate locally.

The list initially included six companies, five of which were within the state of Paraná with the other from Maranhão.

However, after communication with the regulators in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, as well as the addition of three more companies from Maranhão, the tally of state licensees now stands at 18.

VaideBet did make it onto the list of companies with a Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) licence, despite missing out on the register for federal activities during the transition period.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Brazil granted Loterj a preliminary injunction that ensures Loterj-licensed betting brands can continue to operate outside of the federal ban on unlicensed operators.

Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/licensing/brazil-betting-transition-period-operators/