Payment Processing for Betting Operators Licensed in Brazil
Brazil opened a regulated betting market on 1 January 2025, and payments are at the heart of how it is enforced. Only authorised operators may take bets, players may only pay with set methods from their own accounts, and banks must cut off anyone without a licence. For an operator with a Brazilian authorisation, that makes the payment setup clear: build it to the rules from day one and acquirers know exactly what they are boarding.
Last reviewed October 2026
Who may operate
Fixed-odds betting, covering sports bets and online casino games, is regulated by Law 14,790 of 2023, which amended Law 13,756 of 2018. The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance (SPA/MF) authorises operators to offer bets nationwide. State lotteries, such as Rio de Janeiro's, also license operators to take bets within their own state.
An authorisation costs R$30 million, lasts five years and covers up to three brands. The operator must be a Brazilian company whose main business is fixed-odds betting, with at least 20% of its capital held by a Brazilian shareholder, and federally authorised sites operate on the .bet.br domain. About 85 companies, with some 190 brands, held federal authorisations as of September 2026. The tax on gross gaming revenue rose from 12% to 13% for 2026 and is scheduled to rise to 14% in 2027 and 15% in 2028.
The payment rules in Ordinance 615
Ministry of Finance Ordinance 615 of 2024 sets out how money may move between players and operators. It is strict, and an acquirer or payment institution will check your setup against it.
- Allowed: Pix, TED bank transfers, debit cards and prepaid cards.
- Not allowed: credit cards, boleto, cash, cheques, crypto and payments from third parties.
- Deposits must come from an account in the player's own name, registered with the operator.
- Winnings may only be paid to the player's own pre-registered account at an institution in Brazil.
- Prizes must be paid within 120 minutes of the end of the event or game session.
- Player money must be held at institutions authorised by the Central Bank, separate from the operator's own funds.
Unlicensed operators are cut off from payments
Brazil enforces its betting rules through the payment system. Since March 2025, banks and payment institutions must not open or keep accounts for unlicensed operators, must block their transactions and must report suspicious cases within 24 hours. Since 1 January 2026, under Complementary Law 224/2025, a financial or payment institution that keeps processing for an unlicensed operator after formal notice can be held jointly liable for the taxes due. More than 25,000 illegal betting sites had been blocked by the end of 2025.
In practice, there is no longer a grey route into Brazilian betting through payments. Operators without a Brazilian authorisation should block Brazilian players, and any acquirer will expect to see that.
What this means for your payment setup
Because credit cards are banned, your card acceptance in Brazil runs on debit and prepaid cards, and Pix will carry most of your deposits. Plan your cashier around Pix first, with instant confirmation and automatic matching of the paying account to the registered player. Withdrawals need the same care: they must reach the player's own registered account in Brazil within the 120-minute window, so payouts have to be automated rather than handled by hand.
What acquirers check before boarding a Brazilian operator
- Your SPA/MF authorisation, or state licence, held by the Brazilian operating company that signs the agreement.
- The company's shareholders, including the Brazilian shareholding of at least 20%.
- Your .bet.br domains and every brand covered by the authorisation.
- How deposits are matched to the player's own registered account, and how third-party payments are refused.
- Payout flow and timing against the 120-minute rule.
- Where player funds are held and how they are kept separate.
- Expected volume, average deposit and the mix of Pix and cards.
How Ecompayer helps Brazilian-licensed operators
Ecompayer is not a payment provider. You add your authorisation, company, brands, volumes and payment methods once, and your profile is matched with a payment provider that serves licensed betting operators in Brazil. Your account is then prepared with that provider so you can go live and take deposits. Final approval and terms are always the provider's decision.
Sources
- Law 14,790/2023 and Law 13,756/2018; Ministry of Finance, SPA/MF Ordinances 615/2024, 827/2024 and 566/2025.
- Complementary Law 224/2025, published 26 December 2025.
- Teletime, January 2026, on blocked betting sites; Metrópoles list of authorised betting companies, September 2026; Mattos Filho, Demarest and Lefosse client notes.
Check your own situation
Whether a provider boards you depends on your licence, markets, volume and history. Answer four questions to see which payment routes may fit your business.
Four questions about your business
Industry, company country, customer markets and estimated monthly volume, that is all we need to begin.
Related licences
Ontario iGaming (AGCO and iGaming Ontario)
Ontario was the first Canadian province to open a regulated online gaming market to private operators. For an acquirer, an operator registered with the AGCO and signed up with iGaming Ontario is a clear case: lawful gambling, a known regulator and a market with fixed rules for deposits, withdrawals and player checks. What decides your application is how well your payment flows follow those rules.
German gambling licence (GGL)
Germany has one of Europe's most tightly regulated online gambling markets, and payments sit at the centre of it. Taking part in payments for unlicensed gambling is banned outright, and the regulator orders payment providers to stop. For an operator on the official whitelist that is an advantage: acquirers and banks know exactly which operators they can serve, and you are one of them.
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
An MGA licence is one of the most widely recognised gaming licences, and it opens the door to acquirers that run gambling programmes. What decides the outcome is not the licence alone but which markets you take players from, how you protect player money and how you verify players. Acquirers check all three before they board you.
Related merchant problems
Declined by payment providers
Being declined again and again is rarely about your business being bad. Most declines come from a mismatch: the provider does not accept your industry, your markets or your history, or something in your application could not be verified. Find the real reason before the next application, because applying to more providers with the same file usually gets the same answer.
A rolling reserve was requested
A reserve is not a rejection. The provider is holding part of your settled money to cover refunds and chargebacks that can arrive months after you have been paid. It delays income rather than taking it, but it can tie up a large share of your working capital, so get the exact terms and run them against your own numbers before you accept.
Related guides
MCC 7995
MCC 7995 is the merchant category code Visa and Mastercard use for betting and gambling: casino games, sports betting, lottery tickets, casino chips, wagers at race tracks and other games of chance with prizes of monetary value. Under Visa's rules, a merchant that takes online gambling payments has to put all its transactions under 7995, even if gambling is a small part of its business. Both schemes treat the code as high risk, which means scheme registration, more declined payments and fewer providers that accept it.
Offshore gambling payment processing
An acquirer looks at two locations when an offshore gambling operator applies: where your players are, and where your business is really run from. Your licence and company get you considered, but your player markets decide whether you are accepted, which acquirer can take you and on what terms. An operator in Curaçao, Costa Rica or the Caribbean with clean, lawful markets is often easier to board than one with a stronger licence and players in the wrong countries.
High-risk payment processing
High-risk payment processing is card acceptance for businesses that acquirers and card schemes consider more likely to cause chargebacks, fraud, legal or reputational problems. It is a classification, not a verdict on your business: it means fewer providers will take you on, underwriting asks for more, and terms include safeguards such as reserves. With the right provider, high-risk businesses process cards every day.
Check which payment routes may fit your business
Answer a short set of questions about your business and we will check your profile against the requirements providers have given us. No approval is decided here.
Check my payment optionsNothing is shared with a provider until you submit your onboarding pack. Approval is always the provider's decision.