Brazil Reports R$159 Million in Betting Balances to Be Returned as AGU Targets Eight Companies

The Brazilian government has said it has still received R$159 million in payments from betting companies after they were banned from operating online. As operators update the amount, it is calculated by SECOM’s Presidential Secretariat for Social Communication as of 10 October, and financial institutions are expected to finish refunds by 14 October, according to figures the PSSC released on 10 October.

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The data covers around 22.5 million betters who have outstanding balances in their accounts, across 70.5 million accounts. 97% of these accounts have less than R$10 to be reimbursed, and 90% of these accounts have less than R$1 available. BALANCES refer to distribution by accounts and not the number of customers.

AGU to Take Legal Action Against Eight Companies

The reported amount is significantly lower than the R$1.2 billion officially reported by the operators at the end of the voluntary withdrawal period on October 5. The difference is caused by changes made by companies as they submit the information necessary for the financial institutions to process the outstanding refunds.

But eight companies haven’t yet provided the account balance data to banks. Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) will take legal action to compel these operators to submit the data and give customers back their money.

The outstanding balances for each bettor (individual taxpayer registration number – CPF) and the bank account that would be used to make deposits were to be submitted by October 7. If it is not possible to perform the refunds in the normal way, the amount will be transferred to Caixa Econômica Federal from Oct. 14, and the state-owned bank will cover the bettors’ money.

Authorities Submit More Than 16,000 Illegal Websites for Blocking

In addition to the refund process, Brazilian authorities are also continuing their efforts to crack down on illegal betting sites. The refund process is ongoing while Brazilian authorities continue their efforts to shut down online gambling sites that are not authorized to operate in the country. From September 25 to October 9, a total of 16,627 illegal websites were submitted for blocking. On October 8 and 9, 2,979 more websites were identified.

It is an operation that involves the Cyber Operations Laboratory (Ciberlab) of the National Public Security Secretariat (Senasp), the Digital Rights Secretariat (Sedigi) of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance. The addresses found are passed on to the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to be blocked.

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Thousands of Social Media Channels Face Removal

The authorities have also asked for the deletion of 3,691 pages, profiles, channels, groups and servers for spreading information relating to unauthorised betting. It includes 1,974 Facebook pages, 560 Instagram profiles, 1,027 Telegram channels and groups, 115 TikTok profiles, 14 WhatsApp groups and 1 Discord server.

The largest reported group was found to be on Telegram, involving around 18.5 million members. On TikTok, users had approximately 459,000 followers on their TikTok accounts, and 369 users were in each WhatsApp group. The found Discord server contained around 26,600 members.

The content was viewed by an estimated 18.9 million users, members and followers across all four platforms: Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord. Authorities noted that this is a maximum estimate of the possible reach of the identified channels and communities, and may result in the same individual being counted multiple times.

Refunds and Enforcement Proceed in Parallel

The government’s solution involves repatriating outstanding customer debts and measures to curb unauthorized betting sites and their distribution channels online. The lawsuit against eight companies is to curb delays in the refund process, while efforts to block and remove content are aimed at limiting access to illegal operators.

The impact of these measures will depend on the availability of the necessary financial information from companies as well as the ability of institutions to process the reimbursements and authorities to continue in their identification of unauthorized platforms and related promotional channels.

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Source: BNL Data