Regis Dudena: "Responsible Gaming is the duty of operators"

The statement was made during a conference at the Higher School of Advocacy of the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) in Minas Gerais, on Monday (27) this week. During the event, Regis Dudena outlined the regulatory framework implemented by the Secretariat in 2024 and argued that the responsibility for protecting bettors lies with operators, not with the players themselves.

“Here we are not dealing with a purely private, free-market activity. This exploitation occurs through a state concession. The private sector operates as an extended arm of the State,” he said.

According to the secretary, Brazil’s legal framework classifies sports betting and online gaming as lottery modalities, which subjects the sector to public law and the principle of administrative legality. Private companies may operate only through administrative authorization granted by the State.

The regulatory structure, he explained, was designed to address two negative externalities: one of a social and economic nature, related to money laundering and fraud; and another of an individual nature, focused on protecting bettors against pathological gambling and financial harm.

In Dudena’s view, prohibition has never protected people. Gambling has been banned in Brazil since the 1940s, with casinos outlawed in 1946. There was an attempt to legalize bingo halls in the late 1990s through the Zico Law and the Pelé Law, but the State legalized the activity without adequately regulating it. Gambling returned to illegality in 2004.

“What history has shown us is that prohibition did not protect people. Regulation exists to protect individuals—even from themselves—when they engage in this activity,” the secretary stated.

Responsibility lies with operators, not bettors

Dudena criticized the common interpretation that the concept of Responsible Gaming places the burden of self-control on the player.

“It is very common to think that the term ‘responsible gaming’ assigns responsibility to the bettor. What we, as regulators, affirm is that this responsibility belongs to the betting operator,” he declared.

He explained that the Brazilian model rejects generic time or spending limits adopted in other countries. Instead, operators must understand each customer’s profile and apply individualized restrictions based on the associated risk.

Dudena acknowledged the challenges posed by the adjustment period established under Law No. 14,790, enacted in December 2023. During that period, the Secretariat could not fully require all service providers to comply with the law and its related regulations.

Between 2018 and 2023, one of the main issues identified was the absence of regulation. Once the law and the corresponding ordinances were enacted, it was necessary to wait until the turn of 2024 to 2025 for their full implementation.

The Secretariat then had to distinguish between service providers genuinely interested in operating within the law and those exploiting loopholes to act opportunistically or illegally. Some took advantage of the adjustment period to profit without following the rules, while others used the sector to commit fraud and overexploit bettors.

“We had to separate the wheat from the chaff — to identify who intends to operate within the law and who relies on informality and crime,” he stated.

Source: GMB / O Fator