As part of its transparency policy, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) released the authorization processes for bets cleared to operate fixed-odds betting in Brazil.
In this first phase, 582 documents were released, together totaling more than 2,000 pages about the 85 licensed companies.
The opinions now allow interested parties to access the analyses carried out for granting authorization to betting site operators to function in the country.
Stages of document release
The extensive documentation can be accessed on the SPA website, with the first part of the bet authorization processes containing:
- Legal qualification opinion – verifies whether the company is legally established and complies with legal requirements;
- Suitability opinion – assesses the background and reputation of the operator’s executives and administrators;
- Source of funds opinion – analyzes the origin of the company’s funds and its anti-money laundering measures;
- License payment opinion – confirms payment of the R$30 million license fee, valid for 5 years.
In addition, there are also final reports detailing the aspects that justify the decision to authorize the companies to operate in the country.
“Partial compliance”
The documentation on the bet authorization processes records, in some cases, “partial compliance” with the required criteria.
In the case of Pixbet, the SPA requested additional documentation beyond what was initially submitted, regarding legal qualification and suitability, before issuing a final opinion.
The company resolved the pending issues by submitting the requested documentation. Among them were a declaration of unblemished reputation, a clearance certificate from the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), a clearance certificate from the TCU, and certificates from the Federal and State Courts.
However, just over a year and a half after receiving a favorable opinion for its operation, Pixbet is being investigated by the Federal Police in an action involving currency evasion and money laundering.
The Federal Police is still investigating the suspicion that the R$30 million paid for the license has an illicit origin.
In addition, the SPA suspended Pixbet’s license through a precautionary measure on August 13, due to failures in responsible gaming mechanisms and compulsive gambling monitoring.
Financial statements and compliance
Other documents will be released by the SPA in the future, but information about the timeline and contents has not been disclosed in advance.
The secretariat will likely release detailed corporate information, as well as statements of economic-financial capacity, operators’ responses to official notices, among other aspects.
Among the documents that may be released in the next stages are reports on money laundering prevention, responsible gaming policies, customer identification procedures (KYC), and systems for monitoring suspicious bets.