The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) published on Tuesday, in the Federal Official Gazette, Ordinance No. 1,237, which regulates the prohibition on beneficiaries of the Novo Desenrola Brasil program from placing bets.
Regulatory Directive No. 3 was also published, requiring operators to prevent the registration of anyone who joins the programme and to suspend the bettor’s account if they are already registered. The user must request a refund of the account balance; if they fail to do so, the gambling company must return the funds within two days of determining that the player is ineligible.
Administrative Order No. 1,237 amends the agency’s previous document (No. 1,231/2024) to comply with the provisions of Provisional Measure No. 1,355/2026, which prohibited fixed-odds betting for those who enroll in the Extraordinary Family Financial Rebalancing Program.
The prohibition applies to recipients whose new loan agreement is guaranteed by the Operations Guarantee Fund, established by Law No. 12,087 of 2009.
The Ordinance also updates the prohibition on betting by “persons barred from betting by a specific administrative or judicial decision, upon formal notification” (subclause VII) and recipients of the Bolsa Família Programme and the Continuous Cash Transfer Benefit (subclause VIII).
Directive requires platforms to verify whether a customer is a beneficiary of the Novo Desenrola Brasil program
The SPA also published Regulatory Directive No. 3, which requires sports betting and online gambling companies to prevent beneficiaries of the Novo Desenrola Brasil programme from registering with or using their platforms. It will issue a specific regulation at a later date. This document will set forth technical requirements, deadlines and a transition period. Operators must follow procedures to prevent individuals subject to the new restriction from registering or using the gambling system.
Operators must check the Betting Management System (Sigap) to verify whether the user is listed in the database of beneficiaries of the Novo Desenrola Brasil programme. They must be conducted in accordance with the rules set forth in the Ineligible Persons Module Manual.
Operators are required to check Sigap when opening their account and when logging in for the first time each day. Checks must be conducted periodically, in accordance with other SPA regulations.
Sigap will return the query with the following information:
I – “Ineligible – Novo Desenrola Brasil Programme,” when the individual taxpayer ID number appears in the Ineligible Persons Module database as belonging to a programme beneficiary; or
II – “Not Ineligible”, when the ID is not found in the Ineligibile Persons Module database.
Account suspended within 3 days
When logging into the system for the first time that day, if the system returns the message “Ineligible – Novo Desenrola Brasil Programme,” the operator must suspend the account within three days of the date of the query.
Before suspending the account, the operator must inform the user of the reason for the suspension so that the user can withdraw any funds in the account.
If the bettor does not voluntarily withdraw the funds, the bookmaker will refund the amount within two days by transferring the funds to one of the deposit or payment accounts registered by the customer on the platform.
Communication with the customer is mandatory
The operator must document all communications with the user, including the date, time, channel used and content of the message, and retain this information for a minimum of five years.
In the event of unfeasibility to transfer the funds, including due to issues with the user’s deposit or payment account, an inability to contact the user, or the user’s refusal to provide a deposit or payment account, the betting operator must:
I – maintain accounting records of the funds; and
II – make every effort to contact the user so that he or she may provide the details of a deposit or payment account held in his or her name at an institution authorised by the Central Bank of Brazil, through which he or she may receive the funds to which he or she is entitled.
Once a user has been identified as a beneficiary of the Novo Desenrola Brasil programme who has outstanding bets, the operator must cancel those bets and issue a full refund.
Operators have up to 10 days to implement the procedures set forth in the Regulatory Directive and up to 15 days to consult the Sigap Ineligible Persons Module.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/spa-blocks-novo-desenrola-beneficiaries-betting-brazil/
