Recently, on April 18, 2024, the Ministry of Finance published Ordinance n. 615/2024, establishing rules regarding financial aspects applicable to the sports betting houses in Brazil. This was an anticipated move after the sanction of Law n. 14,790/2023, which regulated sports betting in the country and was analyzed in this newsletter.
Ordinance n. 615/2024 stipulated that deposits and withdrawals must only occur through electronical payments (e.g., PIX, TED, debit cards, or prepaid cards) and both the bettor and the sports betting house must have an account with a financial or payment institution established in Brazil. Additionally, the regulation provided for certain prohibitions for sports betting houses, notably forbidding granting advances, bonuses, or anticipations for betting, even on a promotional basis, a common practice currently in Brazil.
Regarding the accounts, Ordinance n. 615/2024 established that sports betting houses must maintain a transactional account in their name at a financial institution authorized to operate in Brazil by the Brazilian Central Bank, which will be used for the bettors’ deposits, withdrawals, and prize receipt. These values will be separated from the assets of the sports betting house, which cannot keep any money of its own in these transactional accounts.
Ordinance n. 615/2024 also set a maximum period of 2 hours for the payment of prizes obtained from sports betting winnings, as well as for the availability of the bettor’s financial resources in their transactional account.
Another important aspect addressed by Ordinance n. 615/2024 was the concern about the liquidity of sports betting houses and payment to bettors. In this regard, the regulation established the obligation to implement policies for managing exposure to liquidity risks and maintaining a reserve fund, with a minimum value of 5 million reais, to guarantee prizes and other payments for bettors.
Our team is available for further clarifications, as well as to provide assistance with the compliance with sporting bets’ regulation.