TLDR
- Brazil’s Ministry of Finance released Ordinance No. 17.66, targeting illegal sports betting operators
- Financial institutions must block transactions with unauthorized operators within 24 hours of notice
- Failure to act makes payment providers jointly liable for taxes on illegal betting activity
- Over 50,000 illegal domains have been blocked since a 2024 deal with telecoms regulator ANATEL
- More than 650,000 self-exclusion requests have been made through a new centralized platform
Brazil has introduced new rules to cut illegal sports betting operators off from the financial system. The Ministry of Finance released Ordinance No. 17.66 on June 17, 2026, setting out procedures for enforcing joint tax liability against banks and payment providers that continue processing payments for unauthorized operators.
The ordinance builds on Complementary Law No. 224/2025, which was passed to strengthen oversight of Brazil’s regulated betting market.
Under the new rules, once a financial institution receives formal notice from federal authorities, it has 24 hours to block all new transactions with the named illegal operator. If it fails to act, it becomes jointly liable for taxes owed by that operator.
The notice will include all details needed to identify the unauthorized company and block transactions related to fixed-odds betting activity.
Who Is Affected
The rules apply to banks, payment institutions, and payment scheme operators. They also extend to anyone involved in advertising or promoting illegal betting operators, who can also face joint tax liability.
The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) and the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) will coordinate the notification process together.
Brazil’s government says cutting off financial access is one of the most effective tools to push illegal operators out of the market and toward licensed platforms.
Enforcement Results So Far
The crackdown has been building for some time. Since a cooperation agreement with Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) in October 2024, authorities have blocked more than 50,000 illegal domains.
Regulators have also blocked 780 social media accounts, 306 advertising posts, and 190 unauthorized apps linked to illegal betting activity.
A virtual lab is being developed to speed up the blocking of unauthorized platforms as they emerge.
On the player side, Brazil launched a centralized self-exclusion platform in December 2025. It allows users to block themselves from all licensed operators with a single request. More than 650,000 self-exclusion requests have been submitted so far.
New Decree Adds Account Blocking Rules
Alongside the ordinance, the government issued Decree No. 13.033 on June 18, 2026. This sets out procedures for blocking accounts tied to unauthorized operators and outlines how information will be passed on to support asset forfeiture in favor of the federal government.
Together, the two documents represent Brazil’s latest move to tighten enforcement and protect its regulated betting environment.
