IBIA Payment Provider Forum engages Brazilian regulators to strengthen iGaming compliance

The IBIA Payment Provider Forum held a meeting with Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) in Brasília last week to reinforce financial compliance and payment integrity in the country’s expanding iGaming sector.

Led by co-chairs Ari Celia of Pay4Fun and Marcelo Bueno M. Carneiro of Banco Z.ro, the Forum aims to build closer ties with regulatory authorities, align on measures to combat illegal betting operations, and strengthen oversight across financial transactions linked to online gaming and sports betting.

The Forum, formed earlier this year, brings together key payment and fintech providers serving Brazil’s legal betting industry, including Pay4Fun, Vpag, OKTO, OneKey Payments, and Banco Z.ro. Their meeting with the SPA marked a formal introduction of the Forum’s board and an opportunity to showcase its contribution to Brazil’s regulated gambling environment.

Representing the broader International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the Forum is a coordinated industry response to rising concerns over illegal betting activities. The IBIA, which includes over 70 companies and 140 betting brands worldwide, oversees more than US$300 billion in annual sports betting turnover.

The discussion centered on several key areas: improving cross-sector cooperation to block transactions with unauthorized gambling operators, organizing shared workshops and information exchange with regulators, and developing stronger enforcement mechanisms to deter financial crime within the gaming sector.

One of the Forum’s core missions is to establish unified action among payment service providers to prevent transactions from being routed to illegal or unlicensed betting sites. Members have been working to enhance internal systems and create shared databases that help flag suspicious activity and unauthorized merchant codes.

The meeting also explored possibilities for greater data collaboration with the SPA, alongside the potential for future regulatory workshops and joint initiatives aimed at improving compliance and consumer protection frameworks.

IBIA, which facilitated the meeting, welcomed the Forum’s progress and addressed the importance of collaboration between regulators, payment providers, and licensed operators in safeguarding the integrity of Brazil’s betting market. The IBIA Payment Provider Forum remains open to additional members looking to contribute to its compliance-focused agenda.