At the start of 2025, Brazil launched a new regulatory framework for fixed odds betting.
The regulations set a range of requirements that licensed operators need to comply with in order to offer their services.
In an unexpected decision late last week, the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance temporarily suspended four betting operators.
SPA's ordinance suggested the suspension comes after failure to provide technical verification
The surprised decision enforced a temporary suspension that may last up to 90 days.
SPA's ordinance was published in Brazil's Official Gazette on Friday 11, 2025, affecting the operations of several companies, including the sponsor of the popular football club, Flamengo.
Per the announcement, TQJ-Par Participacoes Societarias SA, the operator of the brands Bingo Bank, BET DO MILLÃO and TELE SENA BET, as well as 7MBR LTDA, the operator of the brand CBET, were impacted.
Also hit by the SPA's unexpected decision are MEGABET, XBET CAIXA and BETCAIXA's operator, Caixa Lotteries SA, as well as Pixbet Technological Solutions LTDA, the operator of the brands BET DA SORTE, FLABET and PIXBET.
The decision to suspend "the provisional authorizations" of the four operators for up to 90 days comes after the SPA claimed that they failed to submit relevant technical verifications and certifications for their systems and platforms.
During the suspension, the platforms would be permitted to only allow their customers to withdraw their funds.
Within the 90-day period outlined by the SPA, the four operators would have to submit the necessary documents and certifications that highlight their compliance with the established regulatory framework.
After those documents are submitted, the temporary suspensions may be lifted, and the operators can receive a definitive operating license.
Provisional suspension against one operator was revoked by a court
Currently, several dozen operators, that have demonstrated compliance with the new regulatory framework, have received full licenses.
To receive such a license, the operators have also submitted the required technical certifications that confirm the compliance of their systems and platforms with the rules.
Pixbet, one of the operators impacted by the temporary suspensions and one that has sponsorship agreements with Flamengo, as well as other popular clubs, including Coritiba and Atlético Mineiro, disagreed with the ordinance and challenged it in court.
The operator claimed that SPA's ordinance was "illegal and disproportionate, since all the requirements were met within the deadline, and the last certificate was submitted before the publication of the suspension order."
A court decision late on Friday sided with Pixbet with the Substitute Federal Judge Anderson Santos da Silva ruling in favor of the operator.
The ruling effectively "suspended the effects of Ordinance SPA/MF No. 787/2025, until a further judicial decision."
As a result, Pixbet was authorized to "resume their economic activity" while the court also ordered the SPA to be notified immediately of its decision.
