Brazilian authorities don start dey close down more than 2,000 betting sites from Friday, including those wey dey sponsor popular football team Corinthians and other first division clubs. Dis move na part of their plan to regulate online gambling.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad talk say betting don become ‘pandemic’ for Brazil, and dat’s why dem dey tighten deir grip on de sector. Since 2018 when Brazil legalize sports betting, online gambling no dey follow any rule or pay tax.
Many of dese popular sites dey take bets on sporting fixtures, but Brazilians also dey gamble on games like Aviator, where players gamble on de flight of a virtual airplane, or de online casino game Fortune Tiger.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government don say any site wey no sign up to de new regulations wey go take effect in January must go off air. De new rules aim to combat fraud, money laundering, and protect users by banning minors from betting.
De finance ministry identify 2,040 ‘suspicious domains’ and ask de telecoms regulatory agency Anatel to block dem. Esportes da Sorte, which sponsors Corinthians, Athletico Paranaense, Bahia, and Gremio de Porto Alegre, dey among de blacklisted sites.
De ministry say dese betting sites go face ban on advertising, including sponsoring football clubs. Over 200 other sites go continue to operate after dem agree to follow de new rules.
Brazil’s central bank estimate say 24 million out of Brazil’s 212 million inhabitants, roughly one in nine people, gamble online. Lula warn recently say betting dey cause many low-income Brazilians to get into debt.
