SPA suspends Pixbet after publishing, on the 13th, a precautionary measure against the company and its sites Pixbet, Ganhei Bet and Bet da Sorte.
In addition to the license suspension, the penalty also requires the company to cancel bets already placed and immediately refund the amounts to consumers on its platforms.
The decision was published on the website of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, an agency linked to the Ministry of Finance. If the requirements are not met, the operator will be fined R$200,000 per day.
At the same time, Pixbet was the target of a Federal Police operation into an alleged money laundering and currency evasion scheme.
Failure to comply with responsible gaming rules
SPA suspends Pixbet after determining that the operator failed to comply with responsible gaming requirements and violated item III of Article 8 of Law No. 14,790 and item III of Article 5 of SPA/MF Ordinance No. 1,231.
According to the decision, the company does not have, nor has it implemented, tools to monitor and assess bettors, especially those with the potential to develop risk-related behavior associated with gambling.
The company will now have to post notices on its platforms to inform users of what happened, cancel bets placed, and refund the money to consumers.
If it fails to comply with the measures, the company will be subject to a fine of R$200,000 per day. Pixbet, in turn, has 10 days to appeal the decision.
The suspension of Pixbet by SPA remains in effect until the company proves it has implemented the necessary measures to monitor and assess bettors on its betting sites.
However, even with the suspension issued against the federal license, Pixbet can continue operating in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Paraná, since it holds local licenses there.
Federal Police action involves the company and Nelson Wilians
On the same day as Pixbet’s suspension, albeit unrelated, the Federal Police launched Operation Arena, which investigates alleged money laundering involving betting companies.
Among them are Pixbet and the company’s lawyer, Nelson Wilians. As reported by Folha, the Federal Police suspects the group concealed funds derived from bets abroad through cryptoassets and offshore accounts.
During the operation, 17 search and seizure warrants were carried out, and up to R$1.1 billion was frozen in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Paraíba and Paraná.
Among the locations targeted by the search warrants is Pixbet’s headquarters, in Campina Grande.
Federal Police agents also approached one of the company’s owners, Ernildo Júnior, in the same city.
Another operator owned by Pixbet’s owners remains active
Both Pixbet and Open Gaming, which own the sites Donald.Bet and BetpontoBet, are companies owned by cousins Ernildo Junior de Farias Santos and Diomar Tadeu Dantas de Farias.
However, the brands operated by Open Gaming, whose partners are the Farias cousins, continue operating in the country.
According to a survey by H2 Gambling Capital, Open Gaming and Pixbet together account for 4% of the betting market in Brazil.