The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has concluded that licensed operators will be required to add .bet to their domain names. As a result, operators’ URLs will need to have .bet.br after the company name.
This decision has been discussed for a while now as the secretariat was uncertain whether to force operators to insert .bet or .bets. into their URLs. The measure seeks to differentiate licensed gambling websites from their offshore competitors, making it easier for players to be certain that they are gambling with a legal company.
In addition to limiting the influence of the black market, the URL requirements will allow Brazil’s regulatory bodies to better identify irregularities and take appropriate measures.
As reported by EGR, the SPA has already consulted the matter with the Internet Steering Committee, a body responsible for creating domain names in the country.
Brazil Continues to Modify Its Betting Framework
The URL requirement is among the strict measures envisioned by the Ministry of Finance, which are also set to include strict payment rules and a prohibition of betting bonuses.
For context, the SPA decided to prohibit the use of cash, credit cards, bank slips, and cryptocurrencies for betting in order to increase the traceability of funds. Because of that, players in the country will be forced to fuel their betting accounts exclusively through electronic transfers such as Pix, TED, debit cards, or prepaid cards.
In addition to that, Brazil’s latest guidelines stipulated gambling operators are forbidden from providing any form of advantage or bonus, even if merely for promotion or advertising. This decision came amid significant integrity concerns.
Additionally, an earlier rule required gambling companies to engage with an integrity monitoring body such as the International Betting Integrity Authority (IBIA). This caused a variety of companies, such as Yolo Group, KTO, Oddin and Galera.bet to team up with the authority.
Under the Ministry of Finance’s plans, Brazil’s sports betting framework should be completed by July this year. However, bettors will likely remain unable to place wagers until later months.
