The Ministry of Finance ordered the blocking of prediction market websites in Brazil.
At least 27 platforms were taken offline following the measure, which aims to close a regulatory loophole and prevent sites from operating without a license and outside what is provided for by the Bets Law.
At a press conference held on April 24, Finance Minister Dario Durigan explained that prediction markets are not legal in the country for two main reasons.
“The prediction market violates the law that the National Congress passed regarding betting,” announced Durigan.
In addition, he also pointed out that the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) also clarified that the prediction market does not fit into the derivatives category.
“So that we can’t have rain forecasts and celebrity deaths being treated as possibilities for a regular derivative in Brazil,” said the minister.
Kalshi and Polymarket were blocked. See the list
Globally known platforms, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, were banned in Brazil, and can no longer be accessed.
The full list released by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the CMN can be checked below:
[infogram id=”_/awALV5vbcG5AK0jlL9kG” prefix=”Uvp” format=”interactive” title=”Brazil blocked PMs”]
With the progress of the blocking of prediction market sites, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets reported that more than 39,000 platforms have already been taken offline.
The ongoing action, in partnership with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), also allowed the SPA to remove 203 apps that were operating irregularly.
Another measure already implemented is related to the government’s campaign against prediction markets, as announced on the social network X:
What is a prediction market?
Known as Prediction Markets, prediction markets are offered by sites where users trade financial contracts on future events with a yes or no answer.
Election results, entertainment events, such as the Oscars or BBB, and even military actions are part of this market, similar to derivatives.
The recent case of the American serviceman investigated for using confidential information to trade on a prediction market site is one of the most emblematic.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. sergeant major, won more than US$400,000 by betting that then-president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, would be out of government by the end of January.
According to investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, Van Dyke allegedly had access to information about Maduro’s capture by the U.S.
In the country, the prediction market operates even without specific regulation on the subject.
On the other hand, besides Brazil, other nations have already banned Prediction Markets, as is the case with Argentina and Colombia.