Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has identified 20,318 websites and digital channels for blocking.
As authorities widen their crackdown on illegal betting beyond the operators running gambling platforms, the figures comprise 16,627 betting websites and 3,691 digital channels, including pages, profiles and groups, used to publicize services or direct users to them.
415 unlicensed betting websites appeared just two dayspost-ban.
The expansion marks a shift from enforcement focused mainly on betting websites. Authorities are now targeting the wider digital infrastructure used to advertise gambling, intermediate transactions and redirect users to unauthorized services.
“Controls over third parties, traffic origin, digital advertising, partner reputation and payment destination need to be incorporated into risk management,” says ABC-Bet, the Brazilian Association for Compliance, Best Practices, Ethics and Transparency in Betting.
Despite that, a poll found that 75% of Brazilians believe online betting platforms should be kept banned in the country.
“The new regulatory environment demands the ability to identify connections, document decisions, and quickly interrupt relationships with structures that are incompatible with the law. Compliance cannot remain restricted to the core domain of the operation.”
Illegal operations can rely on a network of affiliates, influencers, closed online communities, redirection mechanisms, technology providers and payment methods, allowing them to keep attracting users even when individual websites are blocked.
Recently, it was disclosed that criminals are using a fake page imitating the Federal Government's website to capture the Brazilian taxpayer IDs of people trying to recover money left on betting platforms.
A survey finds 66% of micro and small businesses in Brazil support the ban, while 26% link online betting to lower revenue over the past year
