STORY-TRÅD·politik

Some 13,200 illegal gambling sites are blocked in Brazil

The Brazilian government announced Tuesday (Oct. 6) that it has requested the blocking of 13,241 illegal gambling websites since September 25, when online betting was banned in the country. During the same period, requests were also made to remove thousands of web pages and social media profiles. On the first day following the official shutdown of betting websites, BRL 1.325 billion still awaits refund to approximately 26.5 million bettors. Notícias relacionadas:Fintechs warned for handling illegal betting funds.Brazil monitors online betting networks, takes down 506 websites.Online gambling shrinks Brazil’s consumption and economic activity.According to Finance Minister Dario Durigan, the crackdown on illegal gambling represents a shift in household cash flow. “We had already identified BRL 600 million to 650 million per day leaving low-income savings accounts and going to betting operations – money from low-income savings accounts that now stays with families. This is a significant change,” he stated. Blocked websites Of the 188 gambling websites authorized to operate in Brazil until Monday (5), only one remained operational on Tuesday. The Ministry of Finance reported that a request had also been made to block it. The number of requests to shut down illegal websites averages some 1,103 pages per day since the ban went into effect. In addition to the websites, the government requested the removal of content related to illegal gambling from various digital platforms: 974 Facebook pages; 560 Instagram profiles; 900 Telegram channels and groups; 103 TikTok profiles; 14 WhatsApp groups; 1 Discord server. The collection of pages, profiles, channels, groups, and servers reached more than 17 million users, the minister noted. Refunds This Tuesday marked the first day that authorized betting platforms in Brazil were not operating. The shutdown follows the schedule established by the provisional measure issued by the government. The deadline for bettors to voluntarily withdraw their funds expired at 11:59 p.m. Brasília time, on Monday (5). The companies have until Wednesday (7) to inform financial institutions of each user’s remaining balance – identified by their taxpayer registration number – as well as the bank account used for deposits. According to the government, the amounts still pending refund are: BRL 1.325 billion in remaining balances; 26.5 million bettors with some amount remaining on the platforms; 86.2 million accounts with balances from BRL 0.01 to BRL 0.99; BRL 15.5 million in total across accounts with less than BRL 1. The number of accounts exceeds the number of bettors because a single person may have accounts on different platforms. Concentrated balance Despite the large number of accounts, most of the funds are concentrated among a small portion of users. Minister Durigan stated that about one percent of bettors – equivalent to approximately 200,000 people – account for 80 percent of the balance that still needs to be refunded. Meanwhile, 3.4 percent of bettors account for about 90 percent of the outstanding funds. “The vast majority of bettors have very small balances. So, for example, one percent of bettors – some 200,000 – account for 80 percent of the balance currently pending redemption. And 3.4 percent of bettors account for 90 percent. I see that there is a high degree of concentration,” he said. Accounts under investigation The government also plans to investigate accounts with balances considered high. According to Durigan, about 40 accounts have balances exceeding BRL 500,000 or BRL 1 million. The investigation will look into possible money laundering and any links to criminal organizations. The probe is taking place in parallel with the process of returning balances to bettors and measures to block platforms deemed illegal.