Nearly 300 illegal betting sites created in Brazil one day after Lula bans gambling
The Bet Legal platform identified the creation of 415 new illegal betting sites after the publication of the provisional measure prohibiting gambling in Brazil.
As of 6pm on Friday, when Lula announced the online betting ban, 295 unauthorised domains had been identified. On Saturday alone, 294 illegal sites were created. The number rose to 710 by 7:10pm on Sunday, a 141% increase in two days.
The Bet Legal survey is a partnership with Iron Security, a company specialising in cybersecurity and AI. The system cross-references data from the Official Gazette of the Union, state gazettes and notifications sent to Anatel (the Brazilian telecommunications regulatory agency). The technical checks analyse connectivity, the use of secure protocols and the ownership of the records.
According to the platform, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets forwarded 57,691 addresses to Anatel for restriction between 1 January and 22 September, according to Poder360. The numbers do not necessarily correspond to a single company, as each one can operate dozens of variations of the same domain.
ANJL’s criticisms
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) warned that prohibition does not eliminate the illegal market.
“Without authorisation, without the same regulatory obligations and operating outside the scope of oversight, the clandestine market continues to find space,” the ANJL stated.
ANJL President Plínio Lemos Jorge stated that the emergence of illegal online betting was to be expected.
“The clandestine websites have expanded their offerings and continue to operate outside the law and oversight,” he said. “Now, they will take advantage of the prohibition of legal betting to attract bettors to the illegal market.”
According to the ANJL, in addition to foregoing billions in revenue, the government has pushed more than 30 million bettors into illegal gambling.
506 websites taken down
The government took down 506 illegal gambling websites after the enactment of Provisional Measure 1,394. The action was taken by the Ministries of Justice and Finance. The effort aims to cut off access to clandestine platforms and prevent new sites from being used to offer gambling.
The task force also found 43 channels and groups on Telegram promoting illegal betting. Together, they have more than 212,000 members.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the work is being done in partnership with other agencies, and the cooperation aims to reduce the space for the illegal market in Brazil.