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# Brazil Decree Lets State Freeze Illegal Betting Funds
- URL: https://www.igamingnews.biz/brazil-decree-13033-illegal-betting-funds/
- Published: 2026-06-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-12T13:15:03.000Z
- Description: Brazil has enacted Decree 13,033, letting authorities freeze and seize illegal betting operators' funds within 24 hours as its regulated market turns one.
- Author: iGamingNews Editorial Desk
- Tags: Regulation, Brazil

**Brazil's Ministry of Finance has enacted Decree 13,033, giving authorities the power to freeze the bank accounts of unlicensed betting operators within 24 hours and seize their funds for the state**, the ministry announced on 19 June 2026\. The measure is set out in the government's [official statement](https://www.gov.br/fazenda/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2026/junho/governo-do-brasil-amplia-mecanismos-de-asfixia-financeira-contra-o-mercado-ilegal-de-apostas?ref=igamingnews.biz) on tightening financial pressure against the illegal market.

The decree builds a formal route to cut illegal operators off from the banking system. Under it, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) issues an official notice documenting an unauthorised operation and instructs financial institutions to block the relevant accounts within 24 hours, with the Central Bank of Brazil overseeing compliance. Seized assets can then be forfeited and directed to the National Public Security Fund.

The framework draws in several arms of the state. Alongside the SPA, which sits inside the Finance Ministry, it involves the Ministry of Justice and Public Security through its national public security secretariat, the Central Bank, and the National Monetary Council. The aim is to choke the cash flows that keep clandestine sites running rather than rely on website blocking alone.

"Those operating outside the law cannot continue using the financial system to sustain clandestine businesses," said Finance Minister Dario Durigan.

The move lands as Brazil marks its first full year of a regulated fixed-odds market under Law 14,790/2023\. Carlos Renato Xavier, deputy secretary for monitoring and supervision at the SPA, [told iGaming Business](https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/online-sports-betting/spa-considers-regulation-betting-brazil-success/?ref=igamingnews.biz) that regulating the sector is already proving a success against the unregulated period, arguing that oversight reduces conflicts and stops problems escalating.

The numbers behind the crackdown show why the illegal market remains the unfinished business of year one. The SPA says it has blocked more than 50,000 illegal domains in cooperation with telecoms regulator Anatel since October 2024, and the centralised self-exclusion platform had recorded over 650,000 user requests by December 2025.

For licensed operators, the decree is a competitive as well as a compliance story: every grey-market site starved of banking access is a rival that can no longer undercut taxed, regulated books. The point to watch is enforcement in practice, specifically how fast banks act on SPA notices and whether the 24-hour freeze survives the legal challenges that illegal operators are likely to mount.