The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) Payment Provider Forum has announced the release of a practice guide to help payment providers in Brazil combat illegal sports betting and strengthen protections across the regulated market.
The guide provides practical, actionable steps for identifying and blocking financial flows linked to unlicensed operators, while supporting compliance with Brazil’s new betting regulations and maintaining the integrity of betting and sporting events.
The IBIA Payment Provider Forum was established in February 2025 and brings together leading payment companies – Pay4Fun, Z.ro bank, OKTO and OneKey Payments – and industry stakeholders to address shared risks and reinforce market integrity. With the introduction of Law No. 14,790/2023, payment providers are prohibited from processing transactions for unauthorised betting operators. The guide provides clear operational controls aimed at reducing legal, financial and reputational risk.
The document outlines key financial threats tied to illegal betting, including shell accounts, fraudulent cash-outs, and links to match-fixing and organised crime. It also sets out practical best practice measures to address these issues, such as continuous licence checks, risk-based transaction monitoring, and strengthened due diligence.
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said the playbook provides a practical blueprint for collaboration, aligning payment providers, operators, and integrity stakeholders behind clear controls and consistent action to protect the regulated betting ecosystem.
Ari Celia, Co-Chair of the Forum and representative of Pay4Fun, commented: “Payment providers sit on the front line of market channelisation and compliance. By combining robust controls with trusted intelligence-sharing, we can block unlicensed activity quickly and consistently, before it scales.”
Marcelo Bueno, Co-Chair of the Forum and representative of Z.ro Bank, added: “This guide sets out clear, practical controls — from continuous licence validation and risk-based monitoring, to structured blocking and reporting protocols — to protect the regulated market and reduce legal, financial and reputational exposure.”
A key message of the guide is the need for collaboration across the ecosystem. By sharing intelligence and coordinating action, payment providers, operators, regulators and integrity bodies can more effectively detect suspicious activity and disrupt illegal betting networks.
Through initiatives such as the Payment Provider Forum, IBIA continues to support efforts to improve market channelisation, enhance financial safeguards and promote effective cross-sector cooperation in the fight against illegal betting and financial crime related to match-fixing.
The guide is available to download in English and Portuguese.
