Brazil, Latin America's largest gaming country, will fully legalise online gambling on January 1, 2025, after a 1946 prohibition. Online platforms must now be regulated by the Ministry of Finance and fulfil technical, financial, and regulatory requirements.
Brazil's gambling regulation
Land-based casinos were formerly restricted to government-licensed tourism complexes under rigorous federal and regional laws.
Lotteries: Caixa Econômica Federal runs state-run lotteries. Private involvement was limited to licensed partnerships.
Sports and horse racing betting shops: Licenses, fees, and anti-money laundering rules required.
In 2023, the federal government legalised internet betting and casinos, with complete regulation in 2025. The Ministry of Finance currently handles licensing, application approvals, platform audits, and blocking unauthorised activities with Anatel.

Ministério da Fazenda Official Website
Legal Basis for Brazilian Gambling License
Beginning on January 1, 2025, the Ministry of Finance will be responsible for regulating online casinos and interactive betting in Brazil.
In light of this, the federal government is required to provide licenses for all forms of online gambling. Federal Law 14.790/2023 serves as the primary basis for the authorisation of this activity.
This licence is required to operate, and Anatel has blocked unauthorised digital sites since October 2024.
Key legal issues:
- Single License: The legislation unifies interactive gaming. Operators get one five-year, renewable license for online casino games, sports betting, and goods with random number outcomes (e.g., slots, bingo, roulette, card games, hybrid models). Progressive jackpot products need certification.
- Nationwide Validity: A Ministry of Finance license allows lawful operation throughout Brazil, removing regional permissions. Foreign investors may enter markets more easily.
- Offline Sector: governmental lotteries, horse racing betting, and licensed land-based operators remain under distinct legal frameworks and governmental regulation.
- Administrative responsibility: Brazil has stringent administrative responsibility. To receive and keep a license, platforms must comply with all legal requirements, including technological infrastructure, corporate procedures, and beneficial owner disclosure. Administrative penalties and platform blockage might result.
While comparable to Colombia's, Brazil's centralised regulatory regime provides a strategic base for development into Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, making it a vital jurisdiction for Latin America's legalised digital gaming sector.
Summary of 2025 Brazilian Licensing Requirements:
Parameter |
Requirement |
Licensing Authority |
Ministério da Fazenda (Ministry of Finance) |
Legal Entity |
Brazilian subsidiary, 20% of shares held by a resident |
Financial Reserve |
≥ 5 million Brazilian Reals (~€823,770) |
Processing Time |
8–12 months |
License Validity Period |
5 years |
Certification |
Mandatory for all platforms |
AML / KYC / Responsible Gambling |
Mandatory, regulated by law and subordinate legislation |
Customer Support |
24/7 in Portuguese |
Required Legal Entity for Brazilian iGaming Companies
A local legal company is needed to get a Brazilian gaming permit. Brazilian legislation mandates internet gaming companies to establish a subsidiary with at least 20% Brazilian ownership. Existing offline operators are accountable and transparent under this law.
Key Company Registration Steps:
- Legal Entity: Most iGaming firms choose a private limited company (Sociedade Anônima-S.A.) for its limited liability and flexible internal governance.
- To get a national tax number, the organisation must register with the Receita Federal (Brazilian Tax Authority).
- Local Presence: Appoint local directors and register a Brazilian office with a lease or property documentation.
- According to Brazilian law, corporate documents should state that online gaming and betting are the main activities.
- Shareholder Structure: Formalise the constitutive agreement to ensure no less than 20% of firm shares are held by Brazilians.
- Beneficiary Information: List all founders, stockholders, and major beneficiaries and provide legal and financial confirmation.
- Apply to the Ministry of Finance for registration and authorisation to operate.
Additional Foreign Investor Requirements:
Foreign companies must form a Brazilian subsidiary to seek for a license. This requires a minimum number of Brazilian-resident founders, unlike other nations with little or no local shareholder restrictions. This makes registration more complicated and expensive, requiring careful legal structure and reputable local partners.
Companies must also follow corporate governance, data protection, and gaming laws. No offshore corporations may apply, demonstrating Brazil's commitment to transparency in its regulated environment.
Contact our specialists
Financial and Banking Requirements for Brazilian Gambling License
Both online and offline gaming licensing applicants in Brazil must be financially stable. Businesses need funds to operate, pay winners, and control obligations.
Major Financial Obligations:
- Minimum Reserve: The Central Bank of Brazil requires a BRL 5 million (€823,770) reserve in a financial institution. These monies are frozen as a security deposit during application assessment.
- Proof of Funds: Applicants must present a capital availability certificate and establish money origin. Central Bank internal reviews and approved audit reports are needed. Initial money in Euros or USD must be transferred to Brazilian Reals for the reserve. Bank statements with 12 months of suspicious-free financial movements are necessary.
- Financial Model/Business Plan: A two-year cash flow estimate is required. This strategy must include projected revenues, costs, cost structure, reinvestment methods, refund procedures, advertising budgets, and a wins reserve fund. It must be in Portuguese with a notarised translation.
- An authorised Chief Financial Officer (CFO) must be appointed by operators for financial reporting, regulatory contact, and compliance monitoring. Proof of financial administration expertise and personal integrity are necessary, but certification isn't.
- Financial discipline is checked during the licensing duration. Brazil's regulated gaming business is transparent and stable due to these strict financial standards.
Brazilian gambling license applicants must meet strict financial and banking standards to maintain market stability and transparency. This includes:
- Depositing a Financial Reserve: A Central Bank of Brazil-recognized financial institution must receive 5 million Brazilian Reals. To ensure security, these monies are generally frozen during application assessment.
- Documentary evidence of money origin is necessary for all funds. This includes overseas transfers and approved audit reports to verify the capital source.
- Two-Year Financial Forecast: The two-year financial forecast must include predicted revenue, expenditures, and a cost structure. A business plan shows the operator's financial viability.
- Submission: The business plan must be provided digitally and in hard copy with notarisation, following regulatory norms.
- All gambling-related financial transactions must be made via the registered Brazilian subsidiary's in-country bank account.
- Appointing a Financial Manager. A certified financial manager must be appointed and sign a statement of financial reporting and compliance responsibility.
- Liquidity and Player Obligations: The application must agree to comply with liquidity constraints and pay players on schedule.
- Quarterly financial reports must be submitted to regulatory authorities in the appropriate format for ongoing compliance.
Brazilian licensure usually starts with a rigorous solvency examination. This includes a thorough review of the applicant company's contracts, debts, litigation, credit history, and tax burden. The same financial scrutiny applies to online and physical companies.
Companies who fail to fulfil these strict transparency criteria or cannot satisfactorily establish their capital stability and legitimacy will be rejected, generally with a one-year ban on reapplying. Brazil's rigorous approach shows its commitment to a financially stable and well-regulated gaming business.
Brazilian Gambling Licenses Require Responsible Persons
Brazilian gambling companies must hire important professionals for internal procedures, regulatory engagement, and user protection in addition to meeting corporate, financial, and technological criteria. Documenting the management team's composition is required by regulations.
The nomination of these authorities is required for licensing approval and compliance supervision.
Each licensee must create personal responsibility for consumer complaints, information security, financial control, statutory compliance, and supervisory cooperation.
The legislation forbids outsourcing these tasks and requires that the required personnel work for the corporation or its Brazilian affiliate. Due to reputation and professional background requirements, those with criminal histories, bankruptcy, or tax crimes cannot do these responsibilities.
To organise gambling in Brazil, the Ministry of Finance requires biographical data, references, tax history, and conflict of interest declarations from key specialists and a complete package of supporting documents. Changes to appointments in a special register must be submitted within 15 business days.
Company structures must include the following critical positions:
- The Customer Relationship Manager handles complaints, maintains claims records, and communicates with the regulator on customer service concerns.
- Information Security Specialist - ensures platform data security, encryption protocol implementation, and incident prevention.
- Internal Control Officer - monitors AML, KYC, and responsible gaming compliance and produces regulator reports.
- The Financial Manager (responsável financeiro) manages financial responsibilities, money movements, and tax reporting.
- The Head of Regulatory Interaction communicates with the Ministério da Fazenda, monitors legislative developments, and produces documentation for the department.
- Technical Infrastructure Head manages platform certification, resilience, server localisation, and software upgrades.
- Head of Compliance—verifies beneficiaries, creates internal documents, and ensures corporate and internal requirements are met.
- Authorised Contact Person in Brazil - represents the firm, signs papers, represents interests in administrative authorities, and receives official notifications.
Brazil cannot license iGaming without transparent staffing. Employment contracts, internal orders, and surveys concerning the chosen person's professional experience, education, and legal integrity validate appointments.
License denial occurs if these standards are not met or inadequate information is provided. All critical personnel must communicate with supervisors, access internal information, and answer to requests on time. Residents and foreigners working in the operator's local structure must follow these guidelines.
Technical and Platform Standards for Brazilian Gambling Company Licensing
Brazilian gambling businesses must guarantee their software and technological infrastructure fulfil dependability, data protection, and security regulations. Laboratory accreditation from the Ministry of Finance and technical bodies verifies compliance.
For licensure, operators must describe their technological platform, including solutions, encryption, server architecture, data security, and RNG algorithms. All parts must be certified. Certification is required to sign the license agreement. Software modifications that influence betting, winnings, or data processing need re-verification.
Localisation and a Brazilian-authorized domain are required for the platform. Server infrastructure may be worldwide, but user data, operation logs, and financial data must be maintained in Brazilian data centres for oversight and transparency.
Brazilian iGaming Licensing: Support and Technical Needs
Brazilian iGaming licence applications need 24/7 Portuguese technical and customer assistance for functional faults, legal notifications, complaints, limits, self-exclusion, and refunds. Failure to give this violates license.
The technical prerequisites for business registration are:
- All software components must be certified by approved labs (e.g., GLI, ISO 27001).
- Brazilian-authorized domain registration with evidence of ownership.
- Platform fault tolerance: Backups, failover, and data integrity.
- Secure Communication: SSL/TLS protocols with required user and financial data encryption.
- Player personal and payment data must be kept in Brazil and available to the regulator.
- Technical help in Portuguese via chat, phone, email, and built-in modules.
- Maintenance of algorithm, security, update, and emergency procedure documentation.
- Integration with monitoring systems to automatically report user behaviours, bets, profits, and incidents to the Ministry of Finance.
Creating an iGaming firm in Brazil requires local software modification. Foreign platforms must be modified and certified for wins distribution, RNG functioning, transaction processing, and transparency. We audit third-party solutions including payment providers, KYC services, and hosting.
Social Responsibility, AML, and KYC for Brazilian Gambling Licensees
Brazil's regulated gaming sector involves strict internal controls, international standards, and social responsibility. Online and offline licensees must integrate KYC, AML, and responsible gaming into their everyday operations.
KYC requirements:
- Operators must automatically and documentally verify users at registration and for key occurrences such substantial deposits, withdrawals, or contact detail changes.
- Identification, domicile, funding, and behavioural risk profiles are verified.
- Customer segmentation and screening against foreign sanctions or PEP lists are necessary. Also, offline operators must record KYC and transactions, particularly for high bets or payments.
- Strict AML/CFT criteria are required. Continuous transaction monitoring, automated suspicious activity identification, extensive documentation, and obligatory reporting to authorities are required.
- Appoint an experienced Internal Control Officer to establish and administer AML policy.
Noncompliance may result in license revocation, administrative, and criminal fines. Both online and offline industries have these duties.
Principles of Social Responsibility: A mandatory module. Platforms must provide self-exclusion, risk alerts, time and money limitations, and player aid links.
These characteristics undergo technical certification and inspections.
Offline operators should notify clients, limit susceptible groups, display gambling risk information, and provide self-exclusion mechanisms.
Obtaining and maintaining a Brazilian gaming licence requires continual, verifiable KYC, AML, and social responsibility compliance.
Brazilian gambling licence applicants must comply with several mandatory measures, reflecting the country's commitment to strict internal control and international standards, particularly FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and EU and UK recommendations.
Mandatory measures:
- Implementation of a multi-level automated Know Your Customer (KYC) system to check customer identity, address, and source of money at registration and during key occurrences (e.g., big deposits, withdrawals). CPF (Brazilian Taxpayer ID) verification, biometric checks (such face recognition), and PEP and sanctions screening are common.
- Continuous Transaction Monitoring: AML-compliant algorithms monitor player transactional behaviour to identify and flag questionable actions.
- Internal Control Officer: Appointment of a certified Internal Control Officer (Compliance Officer) with financial monitoring experience and responsibility for designing and executing the company's AML policy.
- Creating a thorough AML policy that is completely incorporated into everyday operations, with clear documentation and yearly revisions.
- National Reporting System Connection: Mandatory connection to the supply of information to the national reporting system, using Ministry of Finance templates, especially for suspicious activity reports to the Financial Activities Control Council.
- Responsible Gaming Features: Platform interface self-limitation mechanisms for betting, session time, and loss restrictions.
- Automatic Player Notifications and Self-Exclusion: Notifying players when restrictions are surpassed and providing unambiguous self-exclusion procedures.
- Staff Training: Staff must get regular financial control, client verification, and responsible gaming training.
Any violation of these requirements is banned. Each point is rigorously audited before and after licencing. Operators must also keep internal reports, personnel action records, and data accessible to supervisory authorities upon request.
Abridged Brazilian iGaming License Acquisition
Federal legislation and Ministry of Finance rules govern Brazil's multi-stage iGaming licence acquisition. Technical certifications and legal structure evaluations are submitted via a centralised portal with digital signatures.
The regulator may seek further information, check capital sources, interview spokespeople, and perform external legal evaluations. Fully registered Brazilian corporations with local shareholders get five-year licenses or are denied if legal standards aren't satisfied. There is no fast review.
Brazil requires four steps to get an online gaming permit:
- First: Create a Resident-Participating Subsidiary. Create a Brazilian legal organisation, create a bank account, get a tax number (CNPJ), write constitutive papers, and contribute 20% resident capital. Finish with national register entry and economic activity authorisation.
- Second: Complete documentation. Gather shareholder data, financial sources, cash flow estimates, platform technological architecture, KYC/AML regulations, and social responsibility systems. Include responsible party appointments and certified lab platform certification initiation documentation. Certification is required for any Portuguese papers.
- Third: Apply to Ministério da Fazenda. The regulator's computerised portal accepts digital signatures, scanned papers, and state fees. Registering, assigning a number, and conducting formal and comprehensive evaluation, the regulator may seek further information.
- Fourth: Review, License, Launch. The regulator checks papers for legal/financial soundness, software compatibility, and complete duty. This takes 8-12 months. A affirmative ruling grants a five-year licence. The operator is enrolled in the national registry and may operate after Ministry of Finance approval.
Each level of these administrative processes needs verification, thus strict compliance is essential. Review suspension and dossier return without accelerated reinstatement result from errors, late submissions, or non-compliance.
Brazil's Online Gambling Market: Sound Prospects Ahead
Brazil, Latin America's biggest consumer market with 215 million people and 70% internet service users, is primed for rapid development in its newly authorised online gaming business. Analysts expect licensing to top $6 billion in its first three years in 2025, creating significant opportunity for early entrants.
Since the nation has PIX, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and mobile banking, operators can launch and deploy products rapidly. Through consumer protection, transaction transparency, and government monitoring, the regulatory framework builds legal platform trust.
Brazilian fixed fees and levies produce state revenue while safeguarding operators' access to a high-engagement, low-competition sector. Government subsidies and tax breaks boost digital sector investment. Brazilian gambling licenses show dependability, international standards, and economic advantage. This developing industry benefits local and global iGaming enterprises.
Here are the characteristics making the Brazilian gaming sector suitable for long-term investment:
- Brazil has around 150 million internet users and 215 million people. Up to 38% of internet users have bet or played real-money games, showing considerable market involvement.
- Robust Digital Infrastructure: Fast internet, extensive mobile device use, and easily integrated payment systems like PIX, Apple Pay, and Google Pay make transactions simple for consumers and expanding fast for carriers.
- Early Market Advantage: In the first years of regulation, the legal market is projected to have less rivalry, giving licensed businesses a chance to grow.
- Pro-Business Regulatory Environment: The Brazilian regulator works with foreign corporations and considers technology startups, encouraging innovation and development.
- New entrants may streamline operations and development with proven technology collaborations with platform providers and payment aggregators.
- Tax revenues are predicted to rise by at least 2.1 billion Reals in the first licensing cycle, indicating the market's financial potential.
- User Perception of Legal sites: Users prefer legalised gaming sites to offshore ones, driving player migration to safer, regulated platforms.
Brazil's gambling license offers a fantastic chance to get into a high-demand, technologically enabled economy for corporations who can negotiate its laws. This is a strategic foundation for building a long-term, legally protected company in Latin America, not merely a new market.
Conclusion
Entering Brazil's iGaming business requires careful planning and regulatory knowledge. Online and offline gaming operators may be licensed by the Ministry of Finance if they fulfil strict capital, founder composition, platform architecture, staff, and infrastructure localisation standards.
A careful and strategic approach is needed since minor departures from these processes might result in licence refusal.
Company registration doesn't ensure a licence for long-term existence. Success requires a thorough understanding of regulatory requirements, from software certification and compliance officers to tax duties, Anatel (Brazil's telecommunications agency, which blocks unlawful sites), and frequent reporting.
Land-based operators must follow the same licensing, financial transparency, social responsibility, and regulator communication requirements. Only careful execution of each stage assures legal and sustained operation in Brazil's burgeoning gaming market.