Esportes Gaming Brasil has issued a warning regarding fraudulent and illegal betting platforms, emphasizing that merely checking for a .bet.br domain is insufficient for verifying legitimate operators. On National Online Betting Day, the Brazilian betting organization presented seven key checks that consumers can use to distinguish authorized operators from illegal sites, clone pages, and fraudulent attempts.
Starting from January 1, 2025, only companies authorized by Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) will be allowed to operate in the country, with licensed websites utilizing the .bet.br domain. However, Esportes Gaming Brasil cautioned that scammers can replicate the names, branding, and advertising of legitimate operators, which can mislead consumers.
Carol Luna, Head of Compliance at Esportes Gaming Brasil Group, highlighted the importance of a comprehensive verification approach: ".bet.br is the first filter, but security does not end with checking the domain. Consumers should look at the entire experience: who operates the brand, how their identity is verified, where payments can come from, which control tools are available and how customer support can be accessed."
The group outlined seven crucial considerations for evaluating a betting platform: verifying the operator against the SPA’s official list, accessing sites through verified channels rather than advertisements or search engine results, ensuring appropriate identity verification, checking accepted payment methods, looking for limits and self-exclusion options, confirming the availability of clear customer support, and being cautious of tempting promises of guaranteed profits or loss recovery.
Esportes Gaming Brasil emphasized identity verification as a pivotal factor separating regulated from illegal betting environments. Authorized operators are mandated to verify bettor identities and implement authentication methods, which may include facial recognition.
Luna explained, "Verification may initially be perceived as an additional step, but it serves a very practical purpose. It helps prevent underage access, the misuse of another person’s identity, fraud, and transactions that are inconsistent with the account holder."
The organization asserted that consumer protection should extend throughout the player experience, not just at the point of account creation. Regulated platforms offer tools such as financial limits, time restrictions, and self-exclusion mechanisms, and payment transactions should occur between the operator and a bank or payment account in the bettor’s name.
Luna concluded, "A regulated market needs to provide consumers with enough information to make informed decisions and recognize their own limits. Safety is not simply about preventing fraud during registration. It is also about ensuring transparency, access to control tools, and support for anyone who decides to stop gambling.
