Brazil Gambling License: The SPA Authorization in 2026
Brazil is the biggest regulated launch of the decade, and it works nothing like an offshore license. The federal authorization buys access to one market, costs R$30 million before you staff a single desk, and comes with the hardest payment and advertising rulebook in the Americas.
This guide carries the numbers from the laws and SPA ordinances themselves, the tax ladder actually in force, and the enforcement record from year one of the regulated market.
Every figure on this page comes from the regulator's own documents. Last verified July 13, 2026.
Our verdict, in brief
Brazil is open, rule-based, and expensive in a way offshore licenses never are. The grant alone is R$30 million for five years and three brands, another R$30 million sits in paid-in capital, and since April 2026 the state takes 13 percent of GGR on its way to 15 by 2028. In exchange the regime is real: a downloadable register with 82 authorized companies and 187 brands, more than 25,000 illegal sites blocked in the first year, and banks legally barred from serving unauthorized operators. Two circulating numbers are both wrong: the 12 percent tax died in April 2026 and the 18 percent one never passed Congress. And no offshore license means anything here, the SPA authorization is the only way in.
What the license costs
The numbers come from Lei 14.790/2023, Portaria SPA/MF 827/2024, and Lei Complementar 224/2025, read from the gazette texts. The grant is capped by the law itself and set at the cap.
| Fee | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Authorization grantSPA term: outorga. 5 years, up to 3 brands. Missing the payment deadline kills the application | R$30,000,000 | Within 30 days of approval, non-extendable |
| Additional brands beyond 3Another R$30M grant plus R$5M reserve and R$15M additional paid-in capital | R$30M + R$20M | Per extra authorization act |
| Minimum paid-in share capital | R$30,000,000 | At application, in currency |
| Financial reserve | R$5,000,000 | Maintained at all times |
| Public take on GGR14% in 2027, 15% from 2028. The operator kept 88% until March 2026 | 13% | Monthly, since April 1, 2026 |
| Inspection feeTaxa de Fiscalização, 8 brackets, inflation-adjustable yearly | R$54,419.56–1,944,000 | Monthly, by revenue bracket |
| Corporate taxes on topPer the SPA's own FAQ of October 2024 | ≈11.25% + 34% | PIS/Cofins/ISS on revenue, IRPJ/CSLL on profit |
| Player income tax | IRPF 15% | On annual net prizes above the first bracket |
| Fines | 0.1%–20% of revenue | Per violation |
Source: Lei 14.790/2023 (Planalto, full text) with Portaria SPA/MF 827/2024 and LC 224/2025
The first-year math
A realistic entry is R$65 million and up: the R$30 million grant, R$30 million locked as paid-in capital, the R$5 million reserve, plus certification, the .bet.br setup, and a compliance operation before the first bet. There is no cheap tier and no renewal procedure on the record yet, the first five-year cycle simply runs to 2029 and 2030 with re-authorization rules still unwritten.
Requirements
A Brazilian company with Brazilian ownership
The operator must be incorporated in Brazil with headquarters and administration in the country, and a Brazilian individual must hold at least 20 percent of the share capital. A local subsidiary of a foreign group qualifies. A controlling shareholder cannot own or run a Brazilian football club.
The .bet.br cage
Every domain runs on the .bet.br extension operated by NIC.br. The betting system needs certification by an SPA-recognized certifier within 90 days of authorization, revalidated annually, with data centers in Brazil or in a country holding a legal-cooperation agreement.
The hardest payment rules in the Americas
Portaria 615/2024Deposits only by Pix, TED, debit or prepaid card, or book transfer. Banned outright: cash, boletos, checks, credit cards, crypto, and any payment from third parties or unregistered accounts. Prizes go only to an account owned by the bettor at a Central Bank-authorized institution.
Social guardrails that keep tightening
Welfare recipients are blocked from betting since late 2025, a national self-exclusion system is live, and advertising rules were tightened twice in 2026. The compliance perimeter moves every quarter, which is itself a planning fact.
How the application runs
Applications run through the SIGAP filing system at any time, and this is one of the few regimes with a stated clock: the SPA must answer within 150 days.
- 1
File through SIGAP
Full corporate, fit-and-proper, and technical dossier. Document requests suspend the clock, and changing the application restarts it.
- 2
SPA decision
150 daysThe SPA notifies the applicant either to pay the grant or that the application is denied.
- 3
Pay the grant
30 days, non-extendableR$30 million to the National Treasury single account. Missing the window kills the application.
- 4
Certify and launch
90 days for certificationThe authorization act issues for five years, the certification report is due within 90 days, and the brands go live on .bet.br domains.
The regime, dated
The market went from gray to regulated in two years, and the tax rate has already moved once. The dates that matter:
Lei 14.790
The operating law: authorization regime, online gaming folded into the betting vertical, payments and player taxation.
Gray market ordered out
Unauthorized operators had to leave the market ahead of the opening, under Portaria 1.475/2024.
Market opens
66 companies authorized at the gate, 14 definitive and 52 provisional. The first 21 definitive five-year authorizations followed in February.
The 18% tax dies
Congress shelved Medida Provisória 1.303/2025 and its 18 percent GGR take, 251 votes to 193. It never applied.
13% in force
Lei Complementar 224/2025 moved the public take from 12 to 13 percent, with 14 percent set for 2027 and 15 from 2028, and made PSPs and advertisers jointly liable for taxes of unauthorized operators they serve.
Asset blocking armed
Decreto 13.033 built the machinery to freeze and forfeit funds of unauthorized operators to the National Public Security Fund.
Registers and official documents
Brazil publishes the register as downloadable PDF and CSV files with authorization numbers, corporate names, CNPJs, brands, and domains. These are the documents we verify against.
Who can help you get it
2Firms from our vetted catalog that service this jurisdiction. Each one holds a registry-verifiable corporate record, checked July 13, 2026. Firms without a verifiable footprint are not listed anywhere on this site.
Gofaizen & Sherle
Tallinn, Estonia · since 2021Licensing-focused consultancy covering 30+ gambling jurisdictions
Estonian registry 16295888 since 2021, both name partners on the board, 23 staff and EUR 4.89M revenue in 2024
SBSB Fintech Lawyers
London / Tallinn · since 2013Fintech and gambling law firm running license work across 30+ jurisdictions
UK LLP OC384762 active since 2013 plus an Estonian entity since 2018, founder Yuliya Barabash
Frequently asked
What operators ask before picking this jurisdiction, answered from the official record.
How much does a Brazil betting license cost?+
The grant is R$30 million, paid within a non-extendable 30 days of approval, covering five years and up to three brands. Portaria 827/2024 adds R$30 million in paid-in capital, a R$5 million financial reserve, and R$30 million minimum net equity, so realistic entry starts around R$65 million before operations. Each additional set of brands costs another R$30 million grant plus R$20 million in capital and reserve.
What taxes does an authorized operator pay?+
Since April 1, 2026 the public take is 13 percent of GGR, rising to 14 percent in 2027 and 15 from 2028. On top sit the monthly inspection fee of R$54,419.56 to R$1,944,000 by revenue bracket, roughly 11.25 percent in PIS, Cofins, and ISS on gross revenue, and 34 percent IRPJ and CSLL on profit. The numbers you still see elsewhere, 12 percent and 18 percent, are both dead: the first was replaced in April 2026 and the second never passed Congress.
How long does the SPA authorization take?+
The SPA must notify the applicant within 150 days of filing through SIGAP, either to pay the grant or that the application is denied. Document requests suspend the clock and amendments restart it. This is one of the few regimes anywhere with a processing deadline in the rulebook.
Can I use my Curacao or Malta license in Brazil?+
No. Offshore licenses have zero legal effect in Brazil, unauthorized sites are blocked through Anatel, banks must refuse their accounts, and since 2026 their funds can be administratively frozen and forfeited. More than 25,000 sites were blocked in the first year of the regulated market. The SPA authorization is the only route.
What about state licenses like Loterj?+
Valid only inside the issuing state, and the Supreme Federal Court enforced that the hard way: in ACO 3.696 it ordered Rio's Loterj to stop selling national reach and to force geolocation on its operators, under fines of R$500,000 a day. A state license is a state-sized product. National reach requires the SPA authorization.
Is there a renewal procedure after the 5 years?+
Not on the record. Neither Lei 14.790 nor Portaria 827 contains one, so the first authorization cycle runs to 2029 and 2030 with re-authorization rules still unwritten. Budget for the question rather than the answer.
Where to go from here
Brazil is a payments-and-compliance market as much as a license market. The rest of the stack: