The increase in online gambling activities among minors in Brazil points to a significant issue within the public discourse regarding regulations. Guilherme Bauab highlights that teenagers often gain access to betting sites through unregulated platforms rather than legal ones. Starting from January 2025, it will be mandatory for regulated operators to implement rigorous identity verification methods, including taxpayer number validation, document review, facial recognition, and proof-of-life verification.
Bauab contends that studies treating the gambling market as a monolith misrepresent the reality by not differentiating between legal and illegal operators, a distinction critical to understanding how minors can continue to place bets. Licensed companies utilize Know Your Customer (KYC) processes that automatically deny registration for underage users. In contrast, many illegal platforms require merely a self-declaration of age, which is often insufficient to deter minors.
The black market poses a serious challenge, potentially raking in over BRL40 billion annually. According to Bauab, current technologies offer effective solutions to combat fraud and unauthorized access. Tools like facial biometrics, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), database cross-referencing, risk analysis, device intelligence, and deepfake detection help thwart attempts to bypass the verification systems employed by legitimate operators. Statistics show that 70% of the regulated market uses verification services by Legitimuz, achieving a KYC approval rate of 98.6%, particularly among the 18 to 24 age group.
Bauab asserts that the most pressing concerns reside outside the regulated marketplace. The illegal sector not only generates substantial revenue but also represents a large portion of the bets placed in Brazil. He calls for a united approach involving government agencies, regulators, technology firms, financial institutions, schools, and families. This strategy would include blocking unauthorized websites, enforcing the Digital Children and Adolescents Statute (ECA), launching awareness campaigns, and imposing financial sanctions on illegal operators.
Current figures show that up to 11% of Brazilian youth aged 10 to 17 have illegally placed bets online, motivated by curiosity, a quest for easy money, or social media influence. The challenge is to understand how minors manage to circumvent these barriers. Research reveals a lack of distinction in studies about the gambling ecosystem, treating regulated and unregulated platforms as identical. As of January 2025, licensed operators must complete comprehensive KYC processes that use sophisticated technology to ensure minors are blocked from registration.
The discrepancies between regulated and unregulated sites create a dilemma for monitoring age verification. While some surveys highlight issues of minors potentially using the internet to bypass checks, Bauab insists that the key differentiator lies between simplistic self-declaration methods employed by illegal sites and advanced facial biometrics practices of reputable operators.
Legitimuz will soon release a white paper detailing the profile of Brazilian bettors, drawing from verified registration data and over 400 million identity checks. Initial findings indicate that individuals aged 18 to 24 represent 24.6% of the betting population, with a KYC approval rate of 98.6%. This emphasizes the importance of understanding what operates effectively within the regulated market compared to the illegal sector.
The stringent KYC measures in Brazil rank among the world's toughest, encompassing document verification, biometric checks, and financial assessments that help prevent minors from overly accessing these platforms. Advanced technology such as Legitimuz’s solutions has proven effective; for instance, more than 400 million liveness checks can detect identity fraud attempts quickly and efficiently.
Combating illegal betting necessitates a collaborative effort from regulators, the industry, and the technology sector. The SPA must enhance efforts to block illegal sites rapidly, while ANPD needs to enforce compliance with the ECA, which prohibits relying solely on self-declarative age verification. Educational campaigns are vital to inform the public about the dangers minors face in unregulated environments.
Furthermore, collaboration with financial institutions is crucial, enabling them to restrict transactions with unauthorized platforms and minimize minors' financial access to betting sites. The technology provider community must also support efforts against illegal activities by sharing intelligence on patterns of fraudulent behavior to assist regulatory authorities.
Bauab emphasizes that protecting minors is a collective responsibility, going beyond regulatory compliance to foster a credible future for Brazil's regulated gambling market.
