Brazilian regulator joins anti-corruption and AML group ahead of January launch 

Brazil’s gaming regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), has become a member of the National Strategy to Combat Corruption and Money Laundering (ENNCLA) ahead of the launch of the Brazilian regulated market in the new year. 

The announcement, made on Monday, 11 November, confirms SPA, which acts on behalf of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, will join forces with ENNCLA, that oversees all counter-corruption and anti-money laundering (AML) policies in the South American country. 

With regulation set to go live on 1 January 2025, SPA has taken the decision to partner with ENNCLA in a bid to reduce the likelihood of unlicensed activity in the market at the turn of the calendar year. 

As outlined in Law No. 9,613/2018, one aspect of SPA’s remit as the regulator of Brazil’s legal betting market is to ensure all licensed operators adhere to AML rules. 

Since its inception in 2023, ENNCLA has played a significant role in the formation of 90 laws that have been passed by the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of Brazil’s federal government. 

With the regulated market less than two months away from launch, SPA has stressed that all operators looking to expand into Brazil must comply with the AML rules outlined in laws published in July of this year. 

Normative Ordinance No. 1,143 stipulates operators are required to enforce policies surrounding the identification of customers signing up to bet, as well as determining and classifying the risk of each player. 

The policies, based on international guidelines on both AML and counter-terrorism financing (CTF), must also be applied to operators’ employees and suppliers. 

The ordinance also details the suspicion threshold before operators should report a transaction to Brazil’s Financial Intelligence Unit (COAF). 

Last month, SPA confirmed partnerships with four different firms that specialise in integrity monitoring in another step towards strengthening its regulatory efforts ahead of January’s launch. 

Technical Cooperation Agreements (ACTs) were signed with Genius Sports, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) and Sportradar. 

All four of the ACTs are set to last five years and will see the group supply SPA with information on betting market movements, with the scope to assist the regulator with the identification of unlicensed operators and illegal activity. 

Each company will also lead training for all members of SPA staff to help spot cases of match-fixing and fraud. 

SPA released its list of the 96 approved operators and the associated 210 brands for the regulated market launch on 10 October, while simultaneously requesting Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency to block 2,040 unlicensed operators.

The order prompted more than 20,000 telephone companies to begin the process of removing the relevant website domains.