Brazil has made breakthroughs in combating illegal online games. According to reports issued by Pay4Fun, a regulated payment agency, 483 bank and financial science and technology accounts of individuals and legal entities have been closed for suspected involvement in unauthorized lottery activities. This unprecedented data shows that the capacity of Brazilian financial institutions, regulators and government departments to work together to combat industrial irregularities is increasing.
Industry experts noted that illegal websites still accounted for over half of Brazil ‘ s online lottery market. These platforms are often beneficial to central banks and national lottery legislation, leading to large financial flows being diverted from effective regulation. Through the Brazilian Freedom of Information Act, Pay4Fun, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, obtained data on the closure of accounts, stating that these accounts were blocked because of the detection of unusual patterns of transactions and indicators of money-laundering, mainly related to unregulated lottery activities abroad. This large-scale closure of accounts marks an important step in the financial compliance of the Brazilian game ecosystem and an improvement in the inter-agency data synergetic capacity to identify, prevent and report suspicious activities. This initiative goes hand in hand with the Brazilian prize and the guidelines issued by the lottery secretariat earlier this year – In March, the Agency requested that banks and financial technology companies immediately stop providing any services to customers receiving funds from illegal lottery operators.
The guidance document also identifies specific requirements for cooperation between financial institutions and regulators:Rapid reporting of suspicious activities; blocking or limiting transactions involving unregulated platforms; ensuring that anti-money-laundering procedures are continuously observed; and supporting the Government in segregating illegal operations from the formal financial system. Leonardo Baptista, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Pay4Fun, stated that payment agencies played a key role in compliance control. He said that removing illegal operators from the financial system would protect consumers and promote the development of responsible and sustainable lottery markets. “The closure of these accounts proves that the payment service provider is the backbone of the regulated ecosystem — illegal operation will be unsustainable if access to the financial system is not possible.”
Leonardo Baptista also reminds consumers that illegal websites can be identified by: Since January 2025, operators with only “.bet.br” domain names have been authorized to operate in Brazil; international domain names, the provision of unsupported forms of payment, the lack of identification and marketing campaigns for promise of profit are considered as operating irregularities. The closure of nearly 500 accounts reflects the initial results of the country ‘ s remodelling of the gaming ecology and the promotion of responsible regulation. Brazil is moving towards a more transparent and controllable environment with the continued improvement of the regulations of the Secretariat for Awards and Lottery and the strengthening of the monitoring of illegal transactions by financial institutions. In regulating the continuing evolution of markets, collaboration between government agencies, payment agencies and the private sector will be decisive in limiting illegal operations and enhancing consumer confidence.