This timely Adsterra Episode has shaken our expectations about Brazil restrictions for the iGaming market. Brazil iGaming regulation has been shelved for years. And now we are witnessing unprecedented development in this area, starting on October 1, 2024.
What is the future of these restrictions? Are operators, providers, and media buyers feeling anxious? Is Brazil’s iGaming in for a full blast on January 1, 2025?
Let’s get a proper look-see at Gaming regulations in Brazil and the potential impact on Latin America from a legal expert’s perspective.
Navigating Brazil’s iGaming regulations with our expert Rafael Biasi
On Adsterra Podcast Episode 2, in Lisbon, Portugal, we have Rafael Biasi for an expert talk, a regulatory lawyer and a member of iGaming Commissions in Brazil. Through his sharp expertise in iGaming licenses worldwide, we navigate Brazil’s regulatory environment, compliance measures for stakeholders, and localized payment solutions in detail.
Our experts:
Rafael Biasi, Legal Affairs at Octus Legal iGaming
Mikhail Zhukov, Head of the CPM Department at Adsterra
Legal Affairs
Octus Legal iGaming
Guest
Rafael is a regulatory lawyer, a member of iGaming Commissions in Brazil and an iGaming and Sports industry professional with expertise in iGaming licenses worldwide.
Head of CPM at Adsterra
Host
Mikhail is a living hard drive of data on the markets, niches, and GEOs. With profound expertise in iGaming and Sports, Mikhail is an ever-active peer and keynote speaker of the conference world, including SiGMA, Affiliate World, and Affiliados Brasil.
Brazil iGaming market regulations
The iGaming market in Brazil is currently the world’s giant sector after Africa, and the latter is lagging far behind. After a long journey of preparation and delays, iGaming online institutions and activities were finally legalized in Brazil in 2018.
Five years later, Brazil made a significant jump to regulating the iGaming market and imposing restrictions on online operators, providers, and media promotion on December 21, 2023.
Milestones of Brazil iGaming Market Development
| Date | Milestones |
| 2018 | President Lula signed Provisional Measure No.1182, implementing Law No.13,756/2018 with approval by the Senate. |
| December 21, 2023 | Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved Bill No 3626/23 and specified regulations for the iGaming market. |
| October 1, 2024 | The latest ordinance states that only those who applied for the license can operate after October 1, 2024. |
| January 1, 2025 | The full start of iGaming restrictions in Brazil with penalties for breaking regulatory rules. The end of the adoption period. |
The key amendments specify:
- Brazil iGaming advertising restrictions,
- Obligatory partnership within Brazil for operators,
- Overall security provision,
- Limitations within B2B,
- iGaming bonus block.
Despite the iGaming market changes, you can run a robust iGaming ad campaign with Adsterra. With 248 GEOs, you obtain genuine traffic and implement high-ROI ad campaigns. The Partner Care support team is always ready to give expert advice.
The Ministry of Finance also stipulated qualitative labs (GLI), regulated payment methods, a responsible play approach, and other requirements to re-shape and regulate the iGaming landscape in Brazil. The compliance measures can help protect users, achieve revenue growth and diminish fiscal deficits.
Brazil has looped in Laboratories International (GLI®) that achieved business accreditation by the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) of the Finance Ministry in order to certify iGaming systems, live iGaming studios, and similar activities and maintain the standards for technical competence.Despite the enforced regulations and changing trends, demand for iGaming in Brazil remains strong. According to Relative Market Share (RMS) and Blask Index, key brands in the Brazilian iGaming market, such as Betano, Bet365, Esportes da Sorte, Sportingbet, and Betnacional, continue to demonstrate promising statistics as of August 2024.
International operators licensing
Plunging deeper into the iGaming regulations in Brazil, Rafael Biasi explains that the industry regulations and restrictions are really hard to meet:
- International iGaming operators are not allowed to conduct business as all offshore licenses have been restricted. Only those who have applied for the permit can operate after October 1, 2024.
- The fee to be paid is 5 million dollars.
- The process takes up to 150 days.
- An operator can lodge an application for a federal or state license. Both approaches are at the moment valid.
- An operator must open a local company in Brazil.
- An operator must have contractual relations with local partners.
- An operator can consolidate three brands under a license.
- Small or middle operators can make a joint inventory and apply together.
- January 1, 2025 is the full kick-start of iGaming restrictions penalties for misconduct of regulatory rules.
Expert tip by Rafael Biasi
“The adoption period lasts until the end of 2024. If you continue operating without the license after October 1, 2024, the authorities can deny your application when you finally file for the permit. So far, 120 operators have applied for licenses at the federal level and around 30 operator’s licenses at the state level (November 2024). ”
More iGaming restrictions in Brazil:
The 18-plus rule. Adults and teens in Brazil take iGaming and Sports very seriously. Following the tradition, minors commonly use their parents’ credit cards to pay for online competitions. With new iGaming restrictions, Brazil players need to prove their identity and registration and be in front of the phone to fulfill the payment.
Certification. iGaming providers in Brazil must certify their activity. If you are an iGaming platform provider, you must certify your platform.
Media and influencers are bound to promote iGaming as entertainment, not investment, including creatives and ad messages. The legal responsibility here lies with the operators.
Since 2018, Brazil has had about 5,000 operators, carrying out activities without any iGaming regulation, including no restrictions for ads. Now, the regulator body of Conar is monitoring operators’ advertising and has already had notifications. The regulator is implementing fiscalizing and penalizing procedures.
Conar is the Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conselho Nacional de Auto-Regulamentação Publicitária) that introduces the Self-Regulation Code. It’s not a legal entity, but it appears as a practice guideline, for Brazilian courts as well.
With the regulatory changes in Brazil, you can still obtain quality iGaming traffic from best-matching traffic sources of 35K+ direct publishers with Adsterra. Use only allowed, tested, and irresistible ad formats.
To Contents ↑Financial transactions in iGaming
One of the high-priority elements of the iGaming regulations in Brazil is payment processing. Operators must follow the financial compliance payment methods approved by the Central Bank of Brazil. They must create a confirmed payment account for every player to maintain full legal transparency.
Credit cards, cash, and checks are prohibited. Money withdrawals must be carried out via transfers authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil. Alternative payment methods in the form of digital currencies are restricted if they are not approved by the Central Bank of Brazil.
Expert tip by Rafael Biasi
“Brazil takes it seriously. iGaming is a huge, important market, however, it carries the potential to damage the population. Therefore, we need to integrate rules and restrictions”.
To Contents ↑Regulatory trends in LATAM
From our experts’ perspective, it seems like Brazil is starting its original way. For example, Argentina has executed iGaming regulations but adopted some of the USA and European patterns, laws, and rules.
Here are some of LATAM’s regulatory trends:
Argentina has state-specific regulations for operators. At the moment, Buenos Aires has stopped new iGaming institutions’ licenses due to concerns about adverse effects on minors.
Mexico allows iGaming with restrictions. Market stakeholders must include warnings in ads and creatives, explicitly saying that games of chance are not intended for minors.
Peru has recently legalized iGaming, meeting the KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) requirements and putting an operator’s license into practice.
The new regulations in LATAM pivot around protecting players through deposit limits, self-exclusion options, etc., urging national and international operators to observe the latest restrictions.
To Contents ↑eSports regulation challenges
Brazilian eSports presents a complex situation due to unclear operation regulations. While Brazil’s Minister of Sports has published an ordinance allowing for traditional sports, it remains unclear whether regulators will extend this permission to eSports.
Over the past five years, eSports in Brazil has evolved rapidly and there are several local teams participating in iGaming championships. The industry has developed to the point where players train like professional athletes, supported by academies and sponsors.
The audience for eSports is primarily the younger generation, which mainly does not possess credit cards. Some of these young fans use their parents’ credit cards instead. Just like with iGaming, this situation has led many operators to focus on the KYC (Know Your Customer) process to verify their players’ identity, age, and payment capability.
To Contents ↑The future of iGaming regulations in LATAM
Rafael predicts that Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and the rest of Latin America are anticipating a significant shift in regulations for iGaming. Some countries have already established regulations, while others are still in the process. Brazil is expected to lead this movement, influencing its neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, Brazil has the most restricted scenario of iGaming regulations among LATAM countries. President Lula is determined to regulate Sports and iGaming activities and maintain the old traditions in a healthier way. The country may induce a domino effect as a regulatory trendsetter with its enormous, thriving iGaming market.
To Contents ↑Conclusion
Brazil is developing the brand-new iGaming landscape with responsible, fair play, safer payment transactions, and nonetheless, high demand.
Operators are close to strengthening their strategies by offering tools that can help players manage their iGaming activities, introducing a safer space for online entertainment and complying with Brazil’s iGaming regulations.
For more insights, watch the full video with Rafael Biasi and Mikhail Zhukov on Adsterra Podcast, Episode 2. Take a shortcut to your success with Adsterra!
