After the Revolution:  Report provided by the IBIA

Although it may be too dramatic to call it a revolution, the changes that have taken place in the Brazilian sports betting market over the last few years have certainly been transformative.

There has been a massive increase in the number of international and domestic sports betting companies that are now licensed to operate in Brazil. According to The Availability of Sports Betting Products: An Economic & Integrity Analysis, published last year, Brazil is now projected to create $34 billion in sports betting turnover by 2028. All of this has been enabled by a new Brazilian sports betting regulatory regime.

The transformation of the Brazilian sports betting regulatory and market landscape has been accompanied by a real commitment by the government to strengthen the sports-integrity ecosystem. This includes, for example, a legislative provision that requires licensed operators to be part of an international integrity-monitoring body.

A successful sports-integrity ecosystem

With the increased growth of the sports betting industry in Brazil and other markets, comes a greater responsibility to protect customers, sports and betting operators from match-fixing. Central to this is the need to create fit-for-purpose, sports-integrity ecosystems.

This ecosystem includes sports betting integrity-education programs designed to educate players, officials and other sporting personnel about the dangers of match-fixing. This is key to protecting the integrity of sporting competition. So is the need for sports governing bodies to embed the highest standards of governance, and enforce robust match-fixing rules and sanctions.
Overly burdensome regulatory and fiscal environments increase the risk of corruption and match-fixing by driving sports betting customers offshore into unregulated markets. These are mostly in Asia, where most of the problems with sports integrity arise. So balanced, efficient, and evidence-based policy and regulation is another key element of this ecosystem.
The ability to detect, deter, and sanction sports betting related match-fixing and fraud is also absolutely crucial. For the sports betting industry this involves detecting and providing suspicious betting data, and working closely with sports, regulators, policymakers, and law enforcement as they investigate and prosecute criminals. What underpins any successful sports integrity ecosystem is collaboration, amongst all key stakeholders, and the ability to innovate.

A cross-sector partnership approach to tackling financial fraud

An important but too often neglected element of this ecosystem is the ability to successfully clamp down on financial fraud. Whether it relates to money laundering, fake accounts, credit cards and payments, financial fraud is a criminal activity and one that undermines the integrity of the sports betting industry and integrity ecosystem. A well-regulated betting ecosystem relies on trusted financial services that prioritize integrity, transparency and consumer protection.

Cooperation between financial services, regulatory authorities, and betting operators is therefore essential to tackling financial fraud and maximizing the potential of the Brazilian sports betting sector. This is why – in a pioneering move to bolster the integrity of Brazil’s newly regulated and rapidly expanding sports betting market – IBIA recently launched a dedicated Payment Provider Forum.

The objective of the Forum is to bring together key industry players to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the regulated betting sector. It will foster collaborative activities that protect the market from financial fraud related to competition manipulation and contribute to a secure, transparent, and responsible betting environment in Brazil. The Forum will serve as a vital platform for aligning payments, regulatory frameworks and market integrity Payment providers play a vital role in maintaining sports betting integrity. It is very encouraging, therefore, that the project was launched with six key payment providers – Bazk, Z.ro Bank, OneKey Payments, OKTO, VPag and Pay4Fun.

  • All of the partners are committed to driving meaningful collaboration and have signed up to a declaration that commits them to:
    Collaborate in the development of standards and best practices for payment processing.
  • Engage with regulatory bodies to defend a robust, fair and effective regulatory framework.
  • Promote responsible gambling and consumer, market, and sporting-event protection.
  • Share knowledge and expertise to innovate and improve the payments ecosystem.
  • Maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and compliance with regulations.
    Their collective expertise will be instrumental in setting industry benchmarks, fostering regulatory dialogue, and ensuring a transparent and secure sports betting ecosystem in Brazil.

ibia payment provider forum brazil

A four-pronged initiative

With IBIA’s members forecast to generate over 70 percent of remote gross gambling revenue in Brazil, the Forum will benefit from IBIA’s extensive knowledge of sports betting integrity issues and trends, obtained from our world-leading, global-integrity monitoring and data-intelligence network.

That includes  many of the world’s largest regulated betting operators, active across six continents, and partnerships with leading sports bodies and gambling regulatory authorities.

payment providers

The forum will also leverage IBIA’s expertise in establishing industry standards, such as its Data Standards Kitemark.
The Payment Forum, which is co-chaired by Ari Celia (Pay4Fun) and Marcelo Bueno M. Carneiro (Z.ro Bank), alongside IBIA, held its first meeting in Rio de Janeiro in February.

The meeting covered many of the challenges facing Brazil’s regulated betting sector including:
• Combating illegal operators: Strengthening enforcement and protecting the regulated market.
• Money-laundering risks: Tackling links to sport-betting manipulation.
• Regulatory impact: Assessing new ordinances and their effectiveness.
• Emerging industry issues: Shaping the future of payments and compliance.

Regulatory and other institutions linked to financial payments and competition manipulation will be invited to join Forum meetings. They will have the opportunity to engage in the development and implementation of innovative preventative actions against financial fraud.

An innovator and sports integrity leader

Whilst it is still at an early stage, we believe that the Forum’s cross-sector partnership approach to tackling financial fraud will help address a missing element in the Brazilian sports integrity ecosystem. It brings together key industry players to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the regulated betting sector.
The Forum provides further confirmation that, with its new regulatory framework and increased focus on tackling sport betting related match-fixing and fraud, Brazil
is becoming an innovator and sports integrity leader.

IBIA will be assessing the potential benefits of replicating this group in a wider international setting. Where Brazil is leading, we hope and expect other countries in the LatAm region and elsewhere to follow. We’re excited about the journey ahead and look forward to driving real impact in the industry. Let’s build a sustainable
and thriving betting market together!

*** This article was originally published in March 2025 edition of Sports Betting Operator Issue 015 Volume 007***