Brazil's Chamber Committees examine new mechanisms to block illegal operations

Brazil's Chamber of Deputies' Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation will hold a public hearing to examine the technological structure and enforcement mechanisms used to block illegal operators.

The session was requested by Deputy Fausto Pinato, who argues that accessing offshore platforms remains too easy for Brazilian users despite the rules in the country's newly regulated market.

Pinato stated that the hearing is essential to explain "which mechanisms are used to identify and block irregular sites, which technical challenges exist, which joint measures are being adopted and which gaps still need to be addressed."

Representatives from the national regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance and from Anatel, Brazil's telecommunication agent, will discuss how monitoring, technical filtering, domain blocking and cross-agency coordination currently operate.

A new bill strengthening payment controls

In parallel, the Chamber's Finance and Taxation Committee approved a bill requiring payment institutions to implement control mechanisms to block transactions tied to illegal gambling and child pornography.

Under the proposal, these controls must be embedded at the origin of the transaction and rely on technological filters, objective criteria and procedures aligned with standards set by the Central Bank.

Institutions that fail to comply would be subject to penalties under Law 13.506/17, which governs administrative sanctions imposed by the Central Bank and the Securities Commission.

The text approved was the substitute presented by Deputy Florentino Neto, which directly prohibits such transactions in the law itself rather than leaving the rule to future regulation.

According to Neto, the proposal "reinforces the protection of fundamental rights, especially those aimed at protecting childhood."

The committee also concluded that the measure does not impact the federal budget.

The bill will next move to the Committee on Constitution and Justice for final review before proceeding to the Senate.