Brazil's betting market goes fully regulated: what Law 14.790/2023 means for players and crypto casinos

Brazil’s iGaming market formally opened under federal regulation on 1 January 2025, ending years of legal ambiguity for operators and players alike. The framework, established by Law No. 14,790/2023 (commonly called the “Lei das Bets”), transformed the country into one of the world’s most closely supervised online betting jurisdictions almost overnight.

This article covers publicly available regulatory information as of June 2026. It is not legal advice. Rules in Brazil are still evolving.

The SPA: Brazil’s new federal gambling regulator

The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), created under the Ministry of Finance (Ministério da Fazenda), is the central authority. The SPA issues licences, sets technical standards, monitors compliance, and can direct Brazil’s telecommunications agency ANATEL to block unlicensed sites.

Getting a federal SPA licence is expensive and demanding: operators must pay a BRL 30 million (~USD 6 million) fee for a five-year authorisation covering up to three commercial brands, hold at least BRL 5 million in minimum capital, and post a BRL 5 million guarantee deposit. Companies must also be incorporated in Brazil with at least 20 % Brazilian share capital.

As of mid-2026, approximately 80 operators hold active SPA authorisations covering fixed-odds sports betting and online casino games.

How the licensing rollout unfolded

The transition was not immediate. During 2024, international operators were permitted to continue trading while the SPA processed applications. By 1 January 2025, the grace period ended: only SPA-authorised companies may legally operate and advertise in Brazil. At market launch, 78 operators and 138 brands were authorised.

Enforcement has been aggressive. During the first half of 2025 alone, ANATEL blocked more than 15,000 illegal betting pages at the SPA’s request — a figure that climbed above 18,000 by September 2025. The SPA has reportedly asked ANATEL to block nearly 50,000 pages in total since regulation began. In parallel, financial institutions were instructed to monitor and close accounts linked to unauthorised operators, with hundreds of individuals and companies affected.

Tax revenue tells the same story: the regulated market generated over BRL 3 billion between January and May 2025. In the first half of 2025, 17.7 million Brazilians placed bets with authorised platforms generating BRL 17.4 billion (~USD 3.2 billion) in gross gaming revenue.

Crypto casinos: the door is closed

One of the starkest provisions of the new framework is a complete ban on cryptocurrency payments. SPA Normative Ordinance No. 615/2024 states that licensed operators may not accept deposits or process withdrawals in any virtual asset. All financial flows must pass exclusively through electronic transfers between verified player bank accounts and the operator’s regulated transactional account — with no exceptions.

The ban was introduced to give authorities full visibility over financial flows and combat money laundering. Notably, crypto payments were already a marginal segment: industry analysts at H2 Gambling Capital estimated that only 0.7 % of Brazilian gambling transactions were conducted in cryptocurrency before regulation took effect.

The practical effect for players who used offshore crypto casinos is significant. The Central Bank now monitors crypto exchanges for suspicious gambling-related activity, and financial institutions are prohibited from processing payments to unlicensed platforms.

What this means for players

• Licensed operators only. If a platform lacks a valid SPA authorisation, it is operating outside Brazilian law, regardless of where it is registered.
• No crypto deposits. Even with an offshore crypto casino that accepts Brazilian reais or Bitcoin, using that site exposes players to unregulated risk and potential account or payment restrictions from their bank.
• KYC is mandatory. Licensed platforms must verify identity using CPF number and facial recognition. Responsible gambling tools — deposit limits, self-exclusion, mandatory pauses — are required by law.
• Tax on winnings. Players face a 15 % Personal Income Tax on net winnings above the annual exemption threshold.
• GGR taxes are rising. Complementary Law No. 224 (January 2026) set operator GGR tax at 13 % for 2026, rising to 14 % in 2027 and 15 % from 2028 — costs that may eventually be reflected in player odds and bonus terms.

Brazil’s regulation rollout is widely watched as a model for other large emerging markets. For players in the region, the key question is no longer which casino to choose, but whether it is authorised — and that answer is now publicly verifiable through the SPA’s official register.