Brazil Preparing to Crack Down on Black Market Operators

The Brazilian government is preparing to put in procedures to crack down on illegal operators in the country ahead of the launch of regulated online betting.

Online betting goes live on January 1st, 2025, and the government is prepared to stop operators without a license from processing payments ahead of that launch. There are eight employees from the Ministry of Finance that have been hired specifically to work on preventing casinos from taking deposits or paying withdrawals to Brazilian gamblers.

A prominent step is the government working to block transactions through the Pix service, which is very popular in the country and is run by the Central Bank of Brazil. The group will also be working with other banks, ensuring that they comply with the country's laws. This should knock out the vast majority of financial options for black market sites.

Speaking about these measures, Play4Fun Director Ari Celia said: "If any commercial bank isn't aware they have a company or client that is using illegal sites, as soon as they receive a warning from the Central Bank they will shut down their bank account immediately.

"If they don't, they'll be subject to fines. There's no point for any commercial bank in Brazil to allow those accounts to process Pix once they are notified."

Casino Listings News is following this story and will be updating readers as appropriate.