The gambling industry in Brazil predates World War II, with most of the activities taking place in gaming houses and casinos. While football betting flourished throughout the country, it was still unorganized. In the postwar period, gambling was banned, apart from lottery and racing. Sports betting was officially declared a criminal misdemeanor in 1946. There has always been suspicion regarding sports betting in Brazil, since it has never set an example for others in terms of ethics in business. The 90s were a decade of slot machine boom in the country. A loophole in the law allowed the companies that supplied them to exist legally, i.e., they sponsored amateur sporting events and teams.
The Brazilian government had no idea that the Internet age was coming. In view of the widespread crime in the country, online sports betting was especially risky. While the state attempted to salvage the situation several times in the early 2000s, all prohibitions were rendered ineffective. Their first attempt was to ban all forms of online gambling, since it seemed to be the easiest thing to do. But this absurd attempt did not succeed, since monitoring the law's implementation was impossible.
Further attempts to ban offshore betting
Authorities decided in 2009 to create a system that would prevent gaming sites from entering the country. As with the previous ban, this law also failed. Taking inspiration from international practices, the government attempted to block transactions between bettors and overseas gaming companies in 2010. This move was to combat the online invasion of bookmakers. However, this did not yield results despite their efforts, which prompted Brazil's authorities to consider the next option.
In 2011, debit/credit card betting was prohibited, but this diminished the flow of remittances. Prohibitions alone clearly did not resolve the problem. Yet, in a nation with a high crime rate, there is also no way to throw away the controls over gambling.