Esportes da Sorte and Reals added to SPA list of approved operators in Brazil

Operators Esportes da Sorte and Reals have been added to the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets’ (SPA) list of approved operators to continue offering its products before the licensed betting market goes live in January.

The inclusion of Esportes da Sorte owner Esportes Gaming Brazil and Reals takes the tally of operators approved to continue doing business during the transition period to 98, with 217 brands now authorised to remain active between 1 October and 31 December.

According to the SPA, Esportes Gaming Brazil and its brands Esportes da Sorte and Onabet were included thanks to a court order it filed after it was initially left off the SPA’s approved register. The operator, shortly after the list’s release, acquired controlling shares in tech platform ST Soft which is licensed by the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery regulator (Loterj).

Loterj is embroiled in a legal dispute with the government over whether it has jurisdiction to give state licensees federal approval to operate across Brazil, rather than only in the state of Rio, as the office for the attorney-general has argued. The case reached the Supreme Federal Court on 14 October.

Reals’ brands Reals, Ux and Netpix also made the revised register and will be allowed to continue offering bets until at least 31 December.

Esportes da Sorte’s inclusion
UOL reported Esportes contacted the SPA asking it to add it to the initial approvals list, as it believed it had met the necessary requirements to continue operations, including having applied for a betting licence.

But the operator is facing an ongoing investigation into its owner’s involvement in illegal gambling and money laundering activities. Its owner, alongside VaideBet and Zeroumbet’s, was arrested as part of ‘Operation Integration’ in September.

Notably, VaideBet and Zeroumbet remain excluded from the SPA’s list, although the latter is involved in one of at least eight federal court lawsuits brought against the SPA by operators left off of the register.

According to Folha, with the ongoing criminal case involving Zeroumbet owner Deolane Bezerra and not the operator itself, the company is arguing its exclusion from the list is unfair. The SPA, meanwhile, says it remains off the list in order to protect bettors.

Esportes da Sorte’s exclusion from the initial list prompted top-flight Brazilian football club Athletico Paranaense to suspend its sponsorship deal with the operator.

The club stated it was requesting clarification over “recently reported facts” relating to the operator’s legality, removing the company’s branding from its kits and stadium.

What happens with that particular sponsorship remains to be seen. Athletico Paranaense’s fellow Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Corinthians came out in support of the operator almost immediately, although it too wanted answers.

“Sport Club Corinthians Paulista reaffirms its trust in Esportes da Sorte, our sponsorship partner, which has been fully complying with the contract,” Corinthians said on its club website. “The club is in contact with the partner and has sent a request for clarification on the status and next steps of the regularisation process of the operation.”