Esportes da Sorte, VaideBet and monopoly lottery Caixa left off list of approved Brazil operators
In September the Brazilian government published Normative Ordinance No 1,475, blocking operators that had not applied for a betting licence and who were not already active in the market. This will be enforced between between 1 October and 31 December, with the regulated gaming market scheduled to go live on 1 January 2025.
Once the deadline passed the SPA revealed 89 operators had received approval. The three skins per application mean 193 brands can legally operate in Brazil until the market launches.
While many well-known brands such as Bet365, Betsson and Aposta Ganha did feature on the list, the register notably left out some big names in the Brazilian sector.
Federal lottery among the brands left off approved list
Caixa Loterias, a federal lottery monopoly operated by state-owned financial servives entity
Caixa Econômica Federal, wasn’t included on the SPA’s list at the time of writing this article.
It said it intends to launch a sports betting brand in the market and applied for a licence ahead of the 20 August deadline, meaning it will be in the first round of licence approvals. However at the time of the SPA’s ban, Caixa did not have a betting offering live in the market.
Caixa Loterias president Carlos Antônio Vieira, previously said the company plans to become a major player in the betting sector.
Companies not included on the SPA’s list of approved operators will have their sites blocked by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) as of 11 October, following a 10-day window allowing players to withdraw funds.
SPA hasn’t clarified whether these companies were excluded for any specific reason, although UOL has reported Esportes da Sorte’s absence is down to a formal error, for which it has contacted the SPA seeking rectification.
A number of errors were spotted in the SPA’s list and the register of approved companies may yet be revised, although it remains unclear whether the SPA will add any of the operators left off the initial list.
List excludes trio of operators relating to illegal gambling scandal
Among the excluded operators were Esportes da Sorte, VaideBet and Zeroumbet, all three of which have been linked to illegal gambling and money laundering in Brazil.
Esportes da Sorte owner Darwin Henrique da Silva Filho handed himself into the federal police on 5 September as part of a police operation. However prior to his arrest Filho issued an open letter maintaining his innocence.
Filho’s surrender followed allegations of illegal betting and money laundering involving Esportes da Sorte, with the civil police of Pernambuco leading the investigation. The ministry of justice and public security, Interpol and police from Goiás, Paraíba, Paraná and São Paulo are also involved in the probe.
VaideBet owner José André da Rocha Neto was also arrested as part of the investigation, as well as influencer Deolane Bezerra, who is accused of launching Zeroumbet with the aim to launder illegal gambling earnings.
Stake and GSS left to wait until January
Other companies missing from the approved list include crypto gambling specialist Stake and Grupo Silvio Santos (GSS), a conglomerate launching its own Todos Querem Jogar (TQJ) betting brand.
Normative Ordinance No 615 banned cryptocurrency for use in gambling, alongside credit, cash, payments slips and cheques.
Despite that, Stake applied for a licence prior to the 20 August deadline. Its exclusion from the SPA’s list means it will have to wait until 1 January 2025 to launch its brand, which is expected to instead use real money over cypto should its licence be granted.
GSS last week announced it would partner OpenBet for its TQJ brand. It does not have a product currently on the market and is in the process of securing financing to fund development. It did apply for a licence ahead of the 20 August and so will gain a licence in January.