IBJR Statement on Unauthorized Betting: Regulatory Consistency and Public Responsibility

The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) warns of the potential development of prediction markets in Brazil, including through channels associated with the capital markets. When a consumer assumes risk conditioned on the uncertain outcome of a sporting event, we are dealing with a bet, regardless of the label, technology, or contractual structure used.

Presenting these models as innovation merely masks the legal risk without changing the underlying economic exposure. Allowing equivalent products to operate outside the regulated betting framework creates room for regulatory arbitrage, with already well-known consequences: unfair competition, weakened consumer protection, threats to sports integrity, and loss of tax revenue.

International experience reinforces this interpretation. In the United Kingdom, such products are clearly treated as betting. In the United States, oversight and enforcement mechanisms are increasingly being strengthened.

Brazil has only recently structured its legislation for fixed-odds betting. Reproducing the same economic exposure through alternative channels, without complying with the same legal and tax obligations, does not represent innovation — it is regulatory circumvention. Innovation coexists with rules. Arbitrage attempts to avoid them.

IBJR advocates for a clear and level-playing-field approach that preserves consumer protection, the integrity of sports, and competitive neutrality.