Brazil's Finance Ministry has placed more than 5 million people on a betting exclusion register, according to ministry representative Dario Durigan. All are listed in Sigap, the database maintained by the Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA).
Around 3 million of those barred are recipients of social welfare programmes. Another 1.2 million requested self-exclusion through SPA. Durigan compared the regulator's approach to betting with its policy on tobacco: the goal is to curb the spread of gambling in the country.
The figure does not include individuals barred by occupation — civil servants working in the gambling sector, athletes, referees, coaches and club executives. The ministry did not disclose their number separately.
The Finance Ministry also confirmed that SPA took part in two Federal Police operations. The first concerns Pixbet, which was operating illegally; its activity has been suspended and players are due refunds. The second involved an operator that obtained a licence through the ministry but was later halted during a supervisory inspection.
Durigan said documents for all licensed operators are open to scrutiny, including companies that secured permits through the courts. Authorities have made transparency in the regulated market a priority.
