TITLE: Brazil Establishes Framework to Block Accounts and Pix Payments Linked to Illegal Gambling Operators
BODY:
On March 24, 2026, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Law No. 15.358/25, establishing the Legal Framework for Combating Organized Crime in Brazil, known as the Raul Jungmann Law. The legislation was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on March 25, 2026. The law introduces enforcement mechanisms to combat illegal fixed-odds betting operations, granting the Central Bank of Brazil and the Ministry of Finance authority to block financial accounts and prevent transactions via Pix (Brazil's instant payment system) linked to unauthorized operators.
Under Article 21-A, financial institutions, payment institutions, and payment arrangement providers must block deposit accounts, payment accounts, and other registration accounts of irregular operators when the competent regulatory or supervisory authority identifies unauthorized fixed-odds betting lottery operations. Institutions must also prevent new transactions enabling irregular betting operations. The blocking process must observe due administrative process, guaranteeing fair hearing and full defense rights for interested parties without prejudicing reimbursement of amounts owed to bettors. Forfeited funds from blocked accounts are allocated to the National Public Security Fund (FNSP).
Article 24-A mandates payment and financial institutions integrate into interoperable systems for sharing electronic fraud evidence to identify and prevent transactions with illegal operators. The Central Bank of Brazil and the National Monetary Council must issue necessary regulations within 60 days of publication. Article 24-B requires the Central Bank to regulate specific Pix mechanisms preventing fund movement linked to unauthorized operators, including creating betting-exclusive transaction modalities linked to authorized operators and implementing automated filters. Article 24-C establishes enhanced due diligence procedures for payment transactions with unauthorized agents.
The law introduces new administrative offenses and penalties for non-compliance with these provisions, maintaining contractual relationships with illegal operators, failure to implement anti-money laundering controls, and advertising unauthorized betting operations. The Chamber of Deputies removed the CIDE-Bets tax (15% levy on betting deposits) from the final text, agreeing to address it separately.
REFERENCES:
Law No. 15.358, of March 24, 2026 (Official Gazette of the Union, March 25, 2026): https://www.in.gov.br/