SPA suspends seven operators, Pixbet saved by another court decision

On Friday, the SPA announced it had suspended seven operators that had failed to deliver security assessment reports for their betting systems to Brazil’s regulator.
Article 8 of Normative Ordinance No 722, which establishes the technical requirements for betting systems, says operators must submit an evaluation report of their systems within 90 days of being awarded a licence. This must be issued by a certifying entity, recognised by the regulator.
The SPA claims the companies’ failures to provide those reports affects the safety of bettors and the economy, as well as the government’s fight against money laundering.
According to the SPA, failure to provide these reports could lead to a sanctioning process being initiated, with a daily fines of BRL40,000 ($6,960) potentially applied to those that continue to breach the precautionary measures.
The list of suspended operators now stands at just four, however, after EA Entretenimento e Esportes and Bet.Bet Soluções Tecnológicas SA announced they had sent the required documents to the SPA, while Pixbet’s licence was reinstated via a court decision.
The operators and brands that remain suspended are:
Operator | Domain(s) |
Bell Ventures Digital Ltda | bandbet.bet.br |
Betesporte Online Betting Ltda | betesporte.bet.br, lancedesorte.bet.br |
Logame do Brasil Ltda | lider.bet.br, geralbet.bet.br, b2x.bet.br |
Sortenabet Gaming Brasil SA | sortena.bet.br, betou.bet.br, betfusion.bet.br |
Pixbet again avoids SPA suspension
Back in April, Pixbet had its licence suspended by the SPA for failing to present the regulator with the necessary technical certifications covering its betting systems.
However, Pixbet’s licence suspension would last less than a day, as federal court Judge Anderson Santos da Silva overturned the effects of the SPA’s suspension.
At the time, Pixbet claimed its initial suspension was “illegal and disproportionate”, with the operator suffering “reputational and economic damages” due to its BRL470 million master sponsorship of Flamengo, a top-flight Brazilian football club.
On both occasions the operator has seen its case expedited by the federal courts to ensure it could have its licence reinstated before Flamengo played a match. Both of Pixbet’s licence suspensions occurred on a Friday, with Flamengo playing a match the following weekend.
This time, it was Judge Leonardo Tavares Saraiva who acknowledged the “periculum in mora”, translating to “danger in delay”, granting Pixbet a preliminary injunction to ensure its Pixbet, Flabet and Bet dá Sorte brands could continue operations.
Discussing Pixbet’s first licence suspension back in April, lawyer Fabio Ferreira Kujawski told iGB he felt the suspension was a disproportionate response to the infraction committed by the operator.
“A suspension of authorisation should only occur in extremely serious cases of repeated violations of Brazilian law,” Kujawski said.
“Before suspension, other sanctions should be applied, such as warnings or even fines. Suspension of authorisation should only be a last resort.”