Brazil’s Regional Labor Court of the 4th Region (TRT-4) has authorized the search and seizure of funds held in betting platforms as part of debt enforcement proceedings, marking a notable development in how virtual assets linked to the betting sector are treated under Brazilian law.
The decision, issued by the court’s specialized enforcement section, allows creditors to request information directly from licensed operators regarding balances held in digital wallets associated with debtor companies.
The ruling applies to cases where traditional recovery mechanisms, such as bank account freezes, have failed to identify recoverable assets.
The matter was examined across two separate cases involving a microenterprise and a food processing company. In both instances, initial requests to access betting platform data were denied at first instance due to lack of evidence that the companies used such services.
On appeal, however, the court reversed those decisions. Judge Carlos Alberto May, the main name in one of the cases, highlighted that Law 14.790/23 formally recognizes the existence of transactional accounts within betting platforms, providing legal grounds for their inclusion in enforcement procedures.
In a parallel ruling, Judge Maria da Graça Ribeiro Centeno stated that the ineffectiveness of conventional asset searches justified the adoption of alternative mechanisms.
She noted that if companies are permitted to hold funds in betting accounts, those assets should be subject to seizure, particularly in cases involving labor debts.
Operators may now be required to disclose balances and transfer funds to judicial accounts when ordered by the courts.
A public hearing in Rio Grande do Sul recently examined the economic and public health impacts of online betting as regulatory scrutiny continues
