Hosted at the prestigious Transamerica Expo Centre in São Paulo, this two-day expo and conference marks a triumphant return after a successful inaugural launch last year. With renowned brazilian social media icons, Negrete and Ronald Lopes. Negrete, with a staggering four million Instagram followers, has captivated audiences with his comedic sports videos, particularly his uncanny player imitations, propelling him to social media superstardom.

Lopes’ impact on the industry is evident, as evidenced by his back-to-back wins for Best affiliate of the year at the Bis Awards in 2023 and Best affiliate influencer at the SiGma Awards 2023.

Originally aspiring to be a footballer, Negrete’s trajectory took an unexpected turn when he assumed the role of Pelé’s stunt double in an autobiographical movie about the football legend. Adding to his accolades, Negrete clinched the coveted Best Influencer 2024 award at the SiGma Eurasia Awards held in Dubai this February, further solidifying his status as a trailblazer in the influencer landscape.

Meanwhile, Ronald Lopes, a self-proclaimed financially retired iGaming luminary, is embarking on a mission to guide 300 Brazilians to multimillionaire status this year through the P4P market – an extraordinary journey he plans to share with delegates during the upcoming SiGma conference.

Lopes’ impact on the industry is evident, as evidenced by his back-to-back wins for Best affiliate of the year at the Bis Awards in 2023 and Best affiliate influencer at the SiGma Awards 2023.

The Ministry of Finance of the Dominican Republic has published a new resolution regulating casinos and online gambling authorization. The text establishes the requirements, administrative fees, and minimum criteria that operators must comply with to obtain a license.

Resolution 136-2024 regulates the authorization to operate the online modality of games of chance and sports betting and, as informed by the Dominican Government, such regulation will be supervised by the Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance.

The publication states that the license for online casinos will be worth DOP 20,473,481 ($346,000), while that for sports betting will be DOP 15,355,111 ($260,000). A third license "for other online applications" is also indicated for DOP 10,236,740 ($173,000). Each license will be valid for five years and not transferable during the first three years.

Authorization of casinos and online gambling in the Dominican Republic has followed a diligent process that culminated on February 28, 2024, with the recommendation to the Minister of Finance by the Casino Commission, under the official letter DM-051-2024 signed by its president, for the issuance of the resolution that will set in motion the new regulated sector of Internet gaming and gambling in the country. 

The regulation contains 36 pages with seven chapters and 36 articles and was signed by Minister José Manuel Vicente.

Some of the provisions

The first chapter of the document includes a definition of each of the terms and words that characterize online gaming activity.

It also points out the requirements to be fulfilled to be an operator in the country (article 5) and details the Internal Control Procedures Manual, the requirements of the internet gaming platform, the administrative fees, and the operating conditions (article 8).

Likewise, the resolution covers all the pertinent parts of the authorization process to obtain the license, as well as operational and security aspects of the technological gaming and betting platforms, complying in Article 27 with the obligation of the operator to enforce a responsible gaming program, which includes a self-exclusion process.

The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) issued a statement in response to the recent conflict between the Ministry of Finance and the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (LOTERJ). The Ministry of Finance urged LOTERJ to cease the registration of lottery modalities operating agents that do not comply with the territorial restrictions established by federal legislation. LOTERJ, however, allows companies registered in Rio de Janeiro to operate throughout Brazil, violating federal regulations.

In addition, LOTERJ is applying tax values and rates different from those established by the Federal Government, raising concerns about a possible "tax war" between states and increasing legal uncertainty in the sector.

The IBJR has learned that LOTERJ has sent letters to companies requesting the immediate interruption of operations of platforms that are allegedly operating irregularly in Rio de Janeiro without a license granted by LOTERJ. Failure to comply with these requests has triggered the opening of administrative sanctioning processes, questioned by the IBJR.

This was answered by the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável, IBJR after the provisional measure of sports betting

Although the states have the authority to operate lotteries as a public service, legislation on the subject remains the exclusive competence of the Union.

Therefore, the IBJR recalls that the Federal Law establishes that the Ministry of Finance will establish conditions and deadlines for the adaptation of companies to the provisions of the law.

The Brazilian Football Confederation and the ICSS (International Center for Sports Security) formalized a partnership aimed at promoting a series of measures to combat match-fixing and fraud in football.

This collaboration between the two entities aims to strengthen the pillars of sporting integrity. ICSS, renowned globally, brings with it vast experience in safety, security and integrity in the sporting field.

Over the years, it has collaborated with several prominent international organizations, such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the Council of Europe and the World Bank.

The ceremony held at London’s Wembley Stadium was attended by the president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues. Furthermore, coach Dorival Júnior and players Danilo and Vinícius Jr.

Also present were Leila Pereira, head of the Brazilian delegation, and Rodrigo Caetano, general executive coordinator of the Men’s National Teams. Representing the ICSS were President Mohammed Hanzab and CEO Massimiliano Montanari.

“The ICSS president, Mohammed Hanzab, commented on the opportunity for collaboration with the CBF, as well as the commitment to facing global challenges related to integrity in sport”

The Board of Directors of Caixa Econômica Federal postpones the decision on the transfer of lottery service operations to its subsidiary.

The reason was the pressure exerted by employees. Employees fear that this measure will be the first step towards privatization. The sale of a subsidiary requires approval from the National Congress, but employees believe it is easier to approve the sale of part of the company than the complete privatization of Caixa.

Fabiana Uehara, director of the Brasília Bank Workers Union, elected to represent employees on the Board of Directors, expressed concern about the situation:

“I think the government is not aware of what is happening. This agenda must be withdrawn”, claiming that the government may not be aware of the consequences. After an intense discussion, they postponed the decision.

Political influence

The influence of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, was also addressed. According to ICL Notícias, Lira managed to influence the replacement of the person responsible for the electronic sports betting area at Caixa.

According to journalist Letícia Casado, from UOL, since 2023, Lira has exerted strong pressure on Haddad on issues related to the online betting sector.

To avoid friction with the federal government, the minister would have given in to pressure from Lira and replaced the person responsible for the aforementioned area.