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Betting and money laundering in Brazil: AML rules and 2026 cases

What Ordinance SPA/MF 1,143 requires from Brazilian betting operators, first-year market data and the 2026 police operations on betting laundering.

2026-10-24

Online betting moves large sums, accepts instant payments and pays out winnings that can be presented as legitimate income, making it an obvious target for money laundering. Brazil has had a regulated fixed-odds betting market since January 2025, with specific anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

Why betting attracts dirty money

There are three classic routes. A criminal deposits illicit cash, places low-risk bets and withdraws the balance as "winnings". Alternatively, the operator itself acts as a front, mixing criminal proceeds with its turnover. Or offshore structures pretend the business is run abroad, justifying international transfers. Recent Brazilian investigations focus mainly on the last two.

The AML rules

Ordinance SPA/MF 1,143, published on 11 July 2024 by the Finance Ministry's Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA), set AML/CFT obligations for operators, enforced from 1 January 2025. According to Demarest, operators must apply risk-based customer due diligence to bettors, staff and partners; check that payment partners are authorised by the Central Bank; report suspicious bets to Coaf, Brazil's financial intelligence unit; file a "no occurrence" statement if there is nothing to report; submit an annual risk assessment by 1 February; and keep records for at least five years. In February 2025, SPA and Coaf met more than 190 operators to standardise suspicious activity reports (NetCPA).

First year in numbers

In 2025, 79 companies were authorised, 25.2 million Brazilians placed bets and the sector generated about R$37 billion in gross revenue. Anatel blocked more than 25,000 illegal sites; financial institutions filed 1,255 reports on transfers to illegal betting involving 1,687 people, and 550 bank accounts were closed (Convergência Digital).

2026 enforcement

On 13 August 2026, Operation Arena, led by the Federal Police with prosecutors, the tax authority and SPA, served 17 search warrants in five states and obtained the seizure of up to R$1.1 billion. Investigators say the group claimed to be based in Costa Rica and Curaçao to justify transfers abroad and allegedly paid its federal licence fee with illicit funds (Agência Gov). In a second phase on 17 September, police arrested a partner of the betting company Pixbet (Portal de Prefeitura); no one has been convicted. In July, Operation Véu de Maia targeted 87 companies suspected of acting as fronts for illegal operators, including possible transfers abroad via crypto (Finsiders).

The 2025 figures also show the regulator's priorities: SPA opened 132 proceedings involving 133 betting houses, and 412 proceedings against influencers led to the removal of 324 profiles (Convergência Digital).

Implications for AML teams

Banks and payment institutions should treat transfers to unauthorised betting sites as red flags. Operators must watch for structured deposits, quick withdrawals and third-party accounts. Offshore structures, payment intermediaries and crypto are the recurring elements in investigations.