A EstrelaBet, the largest Brazilian gamingtech and one of the country’s leading and most trusted sports betting platforms, reinforces its concern about the presence of illegal sites that remain active even after regulatory actions. Since October 2024, Anatel has already taken down over 18,000 irregular domains, with 15,000 in the first six months of 2025 alone, according to data from the Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA).
For João Gerçossimo, CEO of EstrelaBet, the Brazilian market still faces a strong presence of unauthorized operators. According to him, mapping the scale of this problem is extremely difficult, as many of these betting houses constantly change domains and names to remain active, in addition to maintaining contact with players through decentralized channels.
This reality, the executive points out, creates unfair competition with regulated companies. While platforms like EstrelaBet must comply with strict compliance requirements, including Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, identity and location verification, illegal sites require only an email and password to register users. The security procedures adopted by licensed operators involve submitting documents, facial recording, address verification, and bank account linking.
“Illegal betting houses do not meet these requirements, resulting in less bureaucracy and more adoption, but also less scrutiny and zero security for the consumer. It’s like betting on an unregulated digital bank. What guarantees that your money will still be in your account the next day?“, emphasizes Gerçossimo.
For EstrelaBet, combating illegal operations is essential to consolidating the segment in Brazil, ensuring player safety and market sustainability. “Meanwhile, in addition to harm to customers, there is also massive tax evasion that is not reinvested in the population“, highlights the company’s CEO.
Gerçossimo believes that the purpose of regulation is to ensure that gambling is treated responsibly, with integrity and protection for both sides. “This means looking out for the user, guaranteeing clear and transparent rules, and offering a system that is secure, where only companies properly authorized by the Secretary of Prizes and Betting can operate. Unfortunately, we still deal with illegal operators today, which is why joint efforts between the government and the industry are essential to eliminate this practice. With this alignment, combined with Brazilians’ passion for sports and their digital profile, the country has all the conditions to become, in the short term, one of the largest global betting markets“, concludes EstrelaBet’s CEO.
