A newly published ordinance in Brazil has laid out how bettors will have their account funds and data migrated to the regulated market, which is now just weeks away from launching.
Normative Ordinance No 1,875, published in the Official Gazette of the Union today (26 November), has established new regulations relating to how player data and funds will be handled and transferred to licensed operators ahead of the regulated market launching on 1 January 2025.
Up to 93 operators and 205 brands are awaiting licence approvals from the SPA. Once these are granted in the coming weeks, operators will be required to pay the relevant licence fees ahead of relaunching their products. This process of migrating data and player funds can only be carried out by operators approved to operate during the transition period before the legal market’s launch.
Bettors will need to approve the migration of their accounts and data once operators are licensed. This will require players to utilise facial biometrics to prove their identity. They must also register a viable bank account with a payments institution authorised by the Central Bank of Brazil.
Should the bettor not accept the transfer of their funds to a new authorised platform, or the operator they bet with doesn’t obtain a licence, bettor funds must be returned to them by 31 December.
How can companies transfer bettors’ data and funds in Brazil?
Companies seeking to migrate player data to their licensed operations must place a formal request to do so with the SPA, by 13 December.
The request must be signed by the same legal representative that signed the company’s licence application and can be made once the company’s BRL30 million (£4.1 million/€4.9 million/$5.2 million) licence fee is accepted by the regulator.
The SPA will have 15 days from the date the request is made to decide whether to approve it, although that can be extended by a further 15 days if the information provided is insufficient or clarification is needed from an operator.
Companies will be required to present the list of participating bettors, all of whom must consent to their funds and data being migrated to the new licensed platform.
Bettors will have until 31 March 2025 to access their account with the unlicensed platform to withdraw funds or accept the transfer of their funds to the licensed operator. However users cannot place bets or access an operator’s product from 1 January 2025, until they have had their data and funds migrated.
Funds that remain unclaimed by 30 June 2025 will be transferred to national charities, the Student Financing Fund (Fies) and the National Fund for Public Calamities, Protection and Civil Defence (Funcap).
Bettors have until March 2025 to withdraw funds from unlicensed operators
Companies will not be allowed to transfer funds and data if they don’t achieve authorisation to operate in the legal market in Brazil. Additionally, entities that don’t request or achieve approval to transfer resources will be prohibited from doing so.
Such companies will be required to transfer resources from bettors’ accounts to a deposit or payment account previously registered by the player.
Bettors can be reimbursed via the most recent bank account they used with an operators during the October to January transition period.
If that’s also not possible, by 31 March 2025 the entity must make efforts to contact the bettor to provide details for a bank account at an institution authorised by the Central Bank.
The SPA will be able to request information from the companies that weren’t able to return funds to bettors for monitoring and inspection. Those companies could then be subject to sanctions.
