Brazil: Organized Crime Strengthens Following the Approval of Cide-Bets

Brazil.- December 11, 2025 www.zonadeazar.com The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) strongly condemns the approval of Cide-Bets by the Senate’s CCJ, considering it a measure that will strengthen organised crime. Under the pretext of financing public security, the text makes a historic mistake: it gives clandestine platforms — many financed by criminal factions — the greatest competitive advantage the market has ever seen.

By taxing the bettor’s deposit at 15%, the State decrees that R$ 100.00 is only worth R$ 85.00 in companies that follow the law. In the clandestine market, however, the same R$ 100.00 is worth its full value. This is a direct incentive to migrate to the clandestine market.

Today, according to a survey by LCA, 51% of betting platforms in Brazil operate illegally, generating up to R$ 78 billion annually, with more than half of this volume flowing without paying taxes. The regulated sector (49%) is expected to collect R$ 9 billion in federal taxes in 2025, in addition to others such as PIS, COFINS and ISS, which add up to a significant source of public funding. A new tax on deposits threatens to cannibalise this existing revenue, as it reduces the regulated market and expands the illegal market.

Furthermore, the measure is based on a non-existent financial premise. There is talk of collecting R$ 30 billion annually from a formal market that currently has a turnover of around R$ 36 billion. The plan is therefore to collect taxes almost equivalent to the entire turnover of the regulated sector, which is mathematically impossible and makes formal economic activity unviable.

Learn more about how criminal organisations operate in money laundering: https://ibjr.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Lavagem-de-Dinheiro-1-1.pdf.

Edited by @pererarte   www.zonadeazar.com