Brazil's gambling laws: no credit cards or cryptocurrency

Brazil’s gambling laws: no credit cards or cryptocurrency

Added: April 19, 2024

In an effort to regulate the sector, Brazil has implemented new laws for its sports betting and online gambling markets.

Normative Ordinance No. 615‘s regulations forbid operators from taking payments from bettors using credit cards or cryptocurrencies.

The Ministry of Finance announced that the regulations align with the first part of Brazil’s four-phase regulatory implementation. The principal objective of this stage, which extends until the end of April, is to put into effect Bill 3,626—also known as Law 14,790—which was authorised by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in December 2023. Publication of technical, security, and payment controls constitutes the first phase.

These policies prohibit the acceptance of credit cards, cryptocurrency, cash, payment slips, and checks as forms of payment. Before any bets, withdrawals, or payments can occur, the Central Bank of Brazil must authorise any electronic transfers between operators’ and bettors’ accounts. Operators are also prohibited from accepting payments or transfers from unregistered accounts by other parties.

Operators are not allowed to act as an intermediary for players and operators. However, in some circumstances, such as assisting players in receiving their rewards, establishments recognised by the Brazilian Central Bank may offer transactional accounts to operators.

Players will receive their winnings from wagers within a 120-minute window. To help players control their betting habits, operators must provide a virtual account that displays the player’s past thirty-six months of betting activity, the total number of open bets, and their cash position. It is not permitted for operators to make payments on any player’s account.

Operators are also required to establish a minimum financial reserve of R$5 million, which is to be held in federal public bonds at a financial institution that has been approved by the Central Bank of Brazil, in order to alleviate liquidity issues. This reserve must be kept separate from other private accounts.

These new regulations took effect as soon as they were announced. This is a component of Brazil’s larger initiatives to completely control its sports betting and online gambling industries. The last stage will be completed by the end of July and will include the release of fraud policies, protocols for keeping an eye on gambling advertisements, and technological and safety requirements for online gambling, among other things.

Brazil