Brazil's SPA Orders Banks to Block Illegal Betting Money Flows
Brazil's gambling watchdog is following the money this time, not just the websites. Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2,750/2026 came out on 14 September, and it spells out exactly how licensed banks, payment processors, intermediaries and online wallets have to spot and shut down transactions tied to unlicensed operators chasing Brazilian punters.
Both sides carry duties under the rule. Banks and payment firms must monitor suspicious activity, report evidence of illegal betting to the SPA, act on account-blocking notifications, and build systems that stop payments from directly or indirectly funding unauthorised operators. The SPA does its part too. It issues a formal finding of irregularity naming the operator, its websites, apps and domains, plus the accounts and transactions connected to it. That finding is the trigger. It's what sets the notifications in motion, telling banks and payment firms to block accounts and stop the money moving.
The monitoring list is specific. Watch for frequent small or medium-value transfers from multiple senders. Sudden jumps in transaction volume. Betting or gaming references sitting in payment descriptions. Repeated replacement of Pix keys, QR codes, payment links or recipient accounts. Activity that doesn't match a company's declared business. Newly formed companies pulling in large numbers of transfers. Money concentrated in intermediary accounts. New accounts, third-party recipients or swapped intermediaries turning up right after a block. Providers are expected to read the pattern, not just single transactions, and flag shifts that look like attempts to dodge restrictions.
Cooperation channels are baked into the process as well. Communications should preferably run through the Central Bank's secure electronic system, and account-block information can go to the National Secretariat of Public Security (Senasp). Carlos Renato Xavier de Resende, the SPA's Undersecretary for Monitoring and Oversight, said the ordinance tightens coordination with participants in Brazil's National Financial System and Brazilian Payment System. In a LinkedIn post, he argued that enforcement has to hit the infrastructure illegal operators use to receive and move money, not only their websites. "Combating the illegal fixed-odds betting market also means reducing its ability to receive and move funds, and remain economically viable," he wrote.
The deadlines are tight. Worth memorising. From publication, institutions get up to 45 days to complete an analysis of suspicious activity. Find evidence of illegal betting or attempts to evade restrictions, and it has to reach the SPA by the next business day. Once the SPA issues a notification, institutions holding the identified operator's accounts have 24 hours to implement the block, then 48 hours from the blocking action to confirm compliance back to the SPA.
Elsewhere, Finance Minister Dario Durigan has been making the case for tighter controls on online gambling. Durigan, who has led the Ministry of Finance since March after Fernando Haddad stepped down to run for the São Paulo governorship, framed the government's tax approach as a question of fairness rather than revenue alone. "It's not that I want to collect taxes because I need the money. I want to collect taxes for the sake of equality: if a company sells cars, it pays taxes; if it sells drinks, it pays taxes. If it's authorised to operate, it has to pay."
The numbers behind that argument keep growing. Receita Federal reported roughly R$7.3bn (£1bn) in federal tax receipts from betting and online gambling during the first half of 2026. The agency expects the full-year total to more than double the R$10bn (£1.4bn) collected in 2025. Durigan said he's watching Congress and the Senate, where the PT government and President Lula have vowed to repeal the Bets Law before October's general election. An immediate ban isn't his position. His stated preference is to treat gambling like tobacco, using tighter regulation and taxation to discourage participation. Even so, he said the Ministry of Finance has taken no position on the future of online gambling in Brazil and will accept whatever direction lawmakers choose.
For operators and affiliates, the SPA ordinance is the piece with teeth. The 45-day analysis window has been running since 14 September, and once a finding of irregularity lands, blocking becomes a 24-hour job. Payment processors that drag their feet on reporting or compliance now have a written procedure pointing straight at them.