This Wednesday (22nd) marked another important step for the betting market in Brazil. The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF) published Ordinance No. 827 in the Official Gazette of the Union, which sets the rules for authorizing the operation of sports betting and online gaming in Brazil.
Ordinance SPA/MF No. 827 includes 10 annexes. Among the established points is the fee of R$ 30 million for authorization, valid for up to three brands over five years. Additionally, current operators have until December 31 to comply with the new regulations. Once the authorization request is submitted, SPA has up to 180 days to communicate the approval or rejection of the request.
With the publication of the Ordinance, the window for receiving authorization requests for the activity is now open. Only legal entities that receive prior authorization from SPA/MF can operate as operators. From January 1, 2025, companies without an approved license will be prohibited from operating and subject to penalties.
The R$ 30 million license fee must be paid within 30 days after SPA communicates the approval of the request. Interested companies must be established in Brazil, meaning they cannot operate solely as a branch of an operator constituted abroad. Additionally, it is mandatory to have at least 20% of the shareholding held by a Brazilian partner.
What Operators Need to Do
For operators wishing to operate in Brazil, it is important to quickly submit their license application. Despite the 180-day period defined for SPA to analyze the request, operators will have a special deadline during this transition period. Those who submit the request within 90 days from the publication date of the Ordinance are guaranteed to receive a response by December 31, the deadline for compliance.
For all authorized in this first group, the authorization ordinances will be published on the same day. SPA/MF expects to issue the first authorizations by the end of the second half of 2024. Communication between companies and the Secretariat will occur through the digital platform of the Betting Management System (SIGAP). The criteria required by SPA/MF involve five categories: legal qualification, fiscal and labor regularity, integrity, economic-financial qualification, and technical qualification.
Steps to Submit the Application
- Submit documents for legal qualification, starting with the authorization request (Annex I of the Ordinance), identification of controllers, registration with the CNPJ, and others. At least 20% of the shareholding must be held by a Brazilian partner, and the company must be headquartered in Brazil.
- Submit certificates proving fiscal and labor regularity and economic-financial qualification.
- Register with the Commercial Board with the main business objective as “Fixed-Odds Betting Operation,” using CNAE (National Classification of Economic Activities) 9200-3/99, subclass “Operation of unspecified gambling and betting.”
- Prove the full capitalization of a minimum of R$ 30 million and net worth of the same amount, along with a financial reserve of at least R$ 5 million.
- Prove technical qualification, through a request protocol or technical certificate of the betting system, issued by one of the laboratories authorized by SPA.
- Declare the adoption and implementation of policies, procedures, and internal controls for the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- Implement responsible gaming rules and combat gaming addiction, including codes of conduct and the dissemination of good advertising and publicity practices.
- Associate with an independent entity for sports integrity monitoring, national or foreign, to combat match-fixing in sports events.
- Install in Brazil a consumer support structure that is: free, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides service in Portuguese.
Submitting the application within these 90 days, called the transition period, companies will be notified of the approval or rejection of the request by December 31 through SIGAP. If approved, the R$ 30 million license fee must be paid within 30 days. The document is available in full on the Official Gazette of the Union’s website, detailing all requirements for operators to obtain the license.
The ten annexes to the ordinance are:
- Annex I – Authorization request for commercial operation of fixed-odds lottery betting.
- Annex II – Identification form for controllers, holders of qualified participation, administrators, and final beneficiaries.
- Annex III – Registration form for controllers and holders of qualified participation (legal entities).
- Annex IV – Registration form for legal representatives, controllers, holders of qualified participation, final beneficiaries, and administrators (natural persons).
- Annex V – Identification and compliance declaration form for general payment transaction rules.
- Annex VI – Declaration of impeccable reputation (legal entities).
- Annex VII – Declaration of impeccable reputation and compliance with requirements for possession and exercise (natural persons).
- Annex VIII – Declaration of lawful origin of resources (legal entities and natural persons).
- Annex IX – Declaration of policy implementation.
- Annex X – Declaration of economic-financial capacity of controllers (natural and legal persons).
