Brazil creates transparency task force for betting licence reviews after secrecy reversal

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has established a dedicated task force to bring openness to the handling of operator licensing applications, reversing an earlier controversial policy that classified such evaluations for up to a century. The move comes via Administrative Order No. 2,126, dated 20 July, and sets a 120-day deadline for completing the transparency work.

The task force’s creation follows a government decision to abandon its 100-year confidentiality rule on analyses conducted by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). The earlier secrecy was justified by the need to protect sensitive data, but drew criticism for running counter to public accountability.

Finance Minister Dario Durigan has framed the turnaround as a core principle of the administration. “My commitment — like President Lula’s — is a commitment to transparency,” he said. “This is not a government of secrecy; it is not a government that intends to hoard information or withhold it from the public.”

The new body is composed of 15 members and will be responsible for two main tasks: identifying any personal or restricted-access data within the SPA’s proceedings, and then anonymising or redacting that information before public release. The SPA’s Authorisation Undersecretariat will oversee the task force’s day-to-day work.

Once the 120-day period ends, the Authorisation Undersecretariat must deliver a consolidated report to the SPA Office. That office will then forward the report to the Minister of Finance, after which steps will be taken to publish the processed documents. However, the information will only be made public after the country’s elections, scheduled for 4 October (first round) and 25 October (second round).