About this app
What is Superstars?
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that, if it were up to him, online betting companies would be shut down.
During a livestream on Sunday, he said he had met with “eight victims of online betting”. To reinforce his criticism of the sector and in an attempt to win over conservative voters, he pointed out that one gambler had made 1,400 instant fund transfers (Pix) to a betting site. Lula criticised the Central Bank for failing to detect such a high volume of transactions to a single company.
However, that responsibility does not lie with the Central Bank. It is the role of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets to monitor and regulate the sector. Betting companies submit detailed daily reports on bettors’ financial transactions with the sites. A specific module within Brazil’s betting management system detects recurring transfers.
How to play Superstars
Members advocated for stronger powers to be given to Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the regulator of gambling in the Netherlands, with tougher action taken against payment providers, social media sites and affiliates that facilitate illegal gambling.
Van Bruggen revealed the cabinet was in the process of developing legislation to introduce DNS blocking for illegal sites, with a consultation due for early 2027.
Members flagged the growing issue of illegal gambling sites’ advertising appearing across social media, an issue the sector in Netherlands has sought to tackle directly through legal action against Meta.
How to play Superstars
The Ministry of Finance stated that any approval, authorisation, payment notice or other act issued by a department without authorisation was “devoid of legal effect”, with operators still liable for fulfilling their obligations to the DRC’s Public Treasury.
The DRC is perceived by many as a gambling market with significant potential, owing largely to its population well in excess of 100 million people.
Yet tax collection continues to plague the sector’s progress.