Brasilia, Jan 30: Brazil has created a national forum to align betting and lottery rules across federal and state authorities, in a move aimed at reducing regulatory fragmentation and boosting legal certainty in the fast-growing sector.
The National Forum for Systematization of Bets (SINAPO) was established on Jan. 28 by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), part of the Ministry of Finance, and formalised by Ordinance SPA/MF No. 227 published in the Federal Official Gazette on Jan. 29.
The forum is designed to improve coordination among the federal government, Brazil’s states and the Federal District in a system where state lotteries operate alongside federal oversight. According to the ordinance, SINAPO’s mandate is to “articulate, integrate, and promote dialogue” among the different levels of government on lottery and betting operations.
Officials said the forum will focus on exchanging regulatory and operational best practices, coordinating joint actions, integrating strategic data and enhancing legal certainty, transparency and integrity—particularly in betting operations. The initiative seeks to provide greater predictability for operators and regulators by harmonising rules without centralising authority.
SINAPO will be coordinated by the SPA and include representatives from the federal government, states and the Federal District. States and the Federal District may join by signing an adhesion term, which the SPA must issue within 45 days.
The forum will have no minimum quorum and its outcomes will be non-binding and non-deliberative, underscoring its consultative and coordinative role rather than a supervisory one. It is expected to meet four times a year, with extraordinary sessions convened as needed, and meetings may be held in person, virtually or in hybrid format.
Up to five thematic working groups may also be created to address specific issues related to lotteries and betting. Each group will operate for three months and may be renewed once.
The creation of SINAPO marks one of the final acts of Regis Anderson Dudena as head of the SPA. Dudena was appointed Secretary of Economic Reforms at the Ministry of Finance on Jan. 29, capping a period in which he helped structure Brazil’s regulated betting industry.
Officials described the forum as both a symbolic and practical step toward a cooperative, non-centralised regulatory framework intended to support the long-term sustainability of Brazil’s betting and lottery system.
