The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gambling (IBJR) has announced four new members to its ranks, with international operators including MGM’s LeoVegas and Novibet joining the association.
Payment firms Pay4Fun and OKTO have also joined the group, which aims to contribute to the public debate over the regulation of sports betting in Brazil.
The group formed earlier this year in anticipation of Brazil’s sports betting regulations being finalized, as President Lula aims to get a regulated framework established following the failure of predecessor Jair Bolsonaro to sign off on a bill passed in 2018.
LeoVegas began operating in Brazil in 2019, when it brought its online casino platform to the Latin American region, adding to its other jurisdictions in Europe where it established its brand, and latterly Canada, where it entered the Ontario igaming market.
Novibet, meanwhile, has built an established presence in Latin America, where it is live in Mexico, Ecuador, and Chile.
OKTO, which operates in regulated European markets including Romania, Italy, Greece, Germany, the UK, and Spain, has joined the IBJR to help facilitate safer payment processes for operators and players.
Finally, Pay4Fun is a Brazil-headquartered company that has been operating since May 2018. It offers e-wallet and gateway solutions to create a seamless payment process.
The addition of four new members to the association, leadership claimed, puts IBJR in a strong position to achieve its goals and adds “international expertise” to its ranks.
Director-President of the IBJR André Gelfi explained: “The new members are prestigious companies in the betting sector, have international expertise in regulated markets, and identify with the IBJR’s mission of collaborating with society towards a regulated, fair, sustainable market that prioritizes sporting integrity and player safety.”
Other members of the IBJR include Bet365, Flutter, Entain, Betsson Group, Betway Group, Yolo Group, Netbet Group, KTO Group, and Rei do Pitaco. The group will lobby for clear guidelines in the regulation of sports betting in Brazil.
In its first major move since forming, the IBJR last month expressed deep concerns over further delays and “sudden change of courses” to regulations, which it states is creating insecurity after over four years of waiting for regulations to be set in stone.
Last month, the association explained: “The recent news that the announced Provisional Measure promised for the end of April would be converted into an urgent Bill of Law marked yet another sudden change of course in relation to the plan that the Government Federal had communicated to the market, generating new delays, and insecurity among operators and members of the IBJR.
“Over the more than four years in which we have been waiting for the regulation of the sector and the issuance of operating licenses, since the approval of Law Nº 13,756 by the National Congress and its sanction by the President, our optimism with the potential of the Brazilian market has been tested.”
