The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) in Brazil has outlined its regulatory agenda for the upcoming 2025-26 biennium, placing significant emphasis on promoting responsible gambling. Following the launch of Brazil’s legalized online gambling market on January 1, the SPA initiated a public consultation aimed at evaluating the existing regulatory framework and exploring potential enhancements. This consultation concluded on March 27 and garnered approximately 200 responses. Subsequently, the SPA released its updated regulatory agenda, encapsulated in Normative Ordinance No 817.
Key aspects of the new agenda, as specified in Article 2 of the ordinance, highlight the SPA’s commitment to responsible gambling practices and addiction prevention, alongside fostering a transparent and balanced regulatory environment. Moving forward, the SPA plans to issue drafts of proposed regulations at the end of each quarter, starting from June 30, to encourage engagement across the industry.
One of the principal items on the SPA’s agenda is the creation and implementation of a national platform that allows players to self-exclude from gambling activities. The SPA has deemed this initiative as paramount for promoting responsible gambling and preventing addiction. They expect to release more information related to this initiative by the second quarter, along with updates to the rights model concerning resource allocation from betting companies to sports entities, including athletes and clubs involved in sponsorship and advertising.
Furthermore, the SPA intends to clarify standards for a specific seal that licensed betting operators can use, enabling bettors to easily distinguish between licensed and unlicensed products. In its efforts to support responsible gambling, the regulator plans to enhance guidelines that aid vulnerable bettors and their families, aiming to alleviate the impact of problem gambling.
In the third quarter of 2025, the SPA will focus on modernizing its advertising regulations, which have recently faced criticism. Numerous bills proposing further restrictions on advertising are currently undergoing assessment in the Senate. Additionally, the SPA intends to review regulations surrounding the Exclusive Instant Lottery and aims to strengthen Brazil’s betting ecosystem by regulating the economic interactions between operators and providers, countering the pervasive issue of the black market.
As the first year of the regulated market comes to a close in the fourth quarter of 2025, the SPA will establish a national betting system designed to better harmonize state laws with federal regulations. Recently, the SPA convened a meeting with state politicians at the Ministry of Finance to discuss strategies for aligning state regulations with national standards.
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Looking forward to 2026, the SPA anticipates further enhancements to its regulatory framework following the first anniversary of legal gambling in Brazil. In the first quarter of 2026, it aims to solidify and improve inspection procedures to ensure adequate supervision of operators. The licensing process has encountered challenges, and the SPA is focused on refining the authorization procedure based on insights gained from the initial cycle of licenses.
Among the contributors to the delays in the licensing process have been holdups in certifications, with only six technical certification entities currently recognized by the SPA. To address these issues, the SPA plans to review its operator and supplier certification procedures in the second quarter of 2026 to mitigate previous delays. Lastly, in the fourth quarter of next year, the SPA intends to examine its sanctions regime for fixed-odds betting operators who violate regulations. Recently, the regulator suspended the licenses of four operators for failing to provide the required documentation; however, Pixbet has since been reinstated and granted a full license, while the other three companies remain suspended pending the completion of their certifications.
