Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has recommended the creation of a permanent interinstitutional task force to combat illegal betting operators, following an audit that identified significant weaknesses in the country’s oversight and anti-money laundering systems.
The review examined how Brazilian authorities are addressing money laundering risks linked to online betting and gambling platforms, with a particular focus on coordination failures between regulatory and enforcement bodies.
According to the audit, illegal operators currently account for between 41% and 51% of total betting activity in Brazil, representing as much as BR40bn ($7.9bn) annually.
The TCU warned that the scale of the illegal market creates heightened risks related to tax evasion, organised crime, betting fraud and sports manipulation.
Reporting Judge Jorge Oliveira stated that the audit aimed to help the Brazilian state act more effectively.
"The main weaknesses identified were the absence of formalized protocols for sharing information between agencies and the lack of integrated actions for blocking, monitoring, and sanctioning irregular operators," he stated.
The court also highlighted concerns surrounding household indebtedness and gambling-related harm.
Among the main weaknesses identified were the lack of formal information-sharing protocols between public agencies, insufficient coordination for blocking illegal platforms and technical limitations within the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA).
The audit found that monitoring systems remain largely reactive and dependent on complaints or manual searches to identify unlicensed operators.
The TCU recommended that the SPA establish a permanent coordination structure involving Anatel, the Central Bank, the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF), Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service and law enforcement agencies.
The court also urged regulators and financial authorities to strengthen sanctions against banks and payment institutions facilitating transactions linked to illegal betting sites.
Brazil’s federal betting self-exclusion platform has surpassed 462,000 registered users within its first four months of operation
