Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Decree No. 13,033 on June 19, enabling regulators to freeze bank accounts of unlicensed fixed-odds betting operators and, after legal proceedings, seize those funds for the state. The decree, published in an extra edition of the official gazette, shifts enforcement from web-blocking to targeting payment infrastructure, with banks required to freeze flagged accounts within 24 hours and confirm compliance within 48 hours under Central Bank supervision. The move follows Operação Conto da Sorte, carried out June 18, which blocked 50,000 illegal sites and interrupted approximately 350 operators using 37 financial institutions, as part of a widening crackdown by Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) and Finance Ministry.
SPA Issues Blocking Notices Under 24-Hour Bank Freeze Protocol
Under the decree, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), the Finance Ministry unit regulating the sector, can issue an irregularity report and a blocking notice once it identifies an unauthorized operator. Banks and payment institutions must then freeze the funds in related accounts within 24 hours, halt new transactions, and confirm compliance within 48 hours. The Central Bank is notified simultaneously to supervise, and a National Monetary Council (CMN) resolution will set the operational procedures.
The freeze is precautionary, not a final penalty. The National Public Security Secretariat (Senasp), under the Justice Ministry, opens and runs an administrative process in which the operator can mount a defense. Only after a final ruling can the Attorney General's Office go to court to forfeit the money. Confirmed proceeds are routed to the National Public Security Fund to bankroll the fight against organized crime, and the decree states forfeiture cannot override amounts owed to bettors. The asset-forfeiture mechanism was enabled by Brazil's recently passed Anti-Faction Law; the decree itself regulates Article 21-A of the 2023 betting law, a provision added this year by Law 15,358.
Operação Conto da Sorte Blocks 50,000 Sites and Flags 350 Operators
Finance Minister Dario Durigan framed the decree as the next escalation in a widening crackdown. He pointed to Operação Conto da Sorte, carried out June 18, which blocked 50,000 illegal sites and interrupted some 350 operators—operators he said moved money through 37 financial institutions, mostly fintechs and payment firms with light supervision. The SPA's web-blocking cooperation with telecom regulator Anatel, in place since late 2024, has already taken down more than 50,000 illegal domains.
The decree extends a months-long campaign that has already swept up the market's crypto-adjacent corner. In April, Brazil's National Monetary Council banned non-financial prediction-market contracts and the Finance Ministry moved to block platforms including Polymarket and Kalshi, after the local betting lobby pressed regulators to treat them as unlicensed bets. Lula said he would fight illegal operators "by every possible means."
Portaria No. 1,766/2026 Imposes Joint Tax Liability on Financial Institutions
A companion measure published a day earlier, Portaria No. 1,766/2026, makes banks, fintechs and payment firms jointly liable for the taxes owed by the illegal operators whose money they move. If an institution keeps processing for an unlicensed book, the federal tax authority and the SPA can pursue it directly. Together, Durigan said, the measures are designed to stop the financial system from sheltering illegal bets.
Each freeze still has to survive an administrative process and a court step before anything is seized, and the CMN has yet to publish the operational rules banks will follow.
FAQ
What did Brazil's Decree 13,033 signed June 19 allow regulators to do?
Decree No. 13,033, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on June 19, allows Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) to freeze bank accounts of unlicensed fixed-odds betting operators. Banks must freeze flagged accounts within 24 hours and confirm compliance within 48 hours under Central Bank supervision. After an administrative process run by the National Public Security Secretariat (Senasp) and a court ruling by the Attorney General's Office, forfeited funds go to the National Public Security Fund.
How many operators and financial institutions were flagged in Operação Conto da Sorte?
Operação Conto da Sorte, carried out June 18, blocked 50,000 illegal sites and interrupted approximately 350 operators, according to Finance Minister Dario Durigan. He stated these operators moved money through 37 financial institutions, mostly fintechs and payment firms with light supervision.
What does Portaria No. 1,766/2026 require from banks and payment firms?
Portaria No. 1,766/2026, published a day earlier than the decree, makes banks, fintechs and payment firms jointly liable for the taxes owed by illegal operators whose money they process. If an institution continues processing for an unlicensed betting operator, the federal tax authority and the SPA can pursue it directly for unpaid taxes.
