The debate over banning online betting in Brazil is resurfacing at a sensitive moment in the public discourse, marked by simplistic solutions to complex issues.

In this article, Thiago Iusim, founder and CEO of Betshield Responsible Gaming, analyzes the parallels between the electronic cigarette market and the ‘Bets’ sector, highlighting how attempts to eliminate an activity by decree tend to push it into informality.

According to him, the Brazilian experience shows that prohibition does not eliminate markets — it merely reduces the State’s ability to control them and increases risks for consumers.

Brazil has seen this movie before.

There is a magic solution that always seems to return to public debate, especially in election season, whenever an issue becomes politically inconvenient: ban it.

The logic is seductive. In the political narrative, the issue disappears. In real life, it simply moves elsewhere.

E-cigarettes make that point painfully clear.

Vapes have never been authorized in Brazil. They have been officially banned since 2009. In theory, they should not exist. In practice, they are everywhere, sold through social media, messaging apps, marketplaces, street vendors, and small retail shops, with no sanitary controls, no effective oversight, and no real guarantee of origin.

Prohibition did not eliminate the market.

It only eliminated the possibility of surrounding that market with rules.

A recent CNN report on the surge in e-cigarette seizures helps show the scale of the problem. Brazil did not get rid of vapes. It simply pushed the market into an environment where the state lost the capacity to control it.

The state banned it. Organized crime applauded.

That experience helps explain the current debate around online betting in Brazil.

Bets existed long before Law 14,790/2023. For years, Brazil lived with an active market operating online and from abroad, with no local tax collection, no regulatory oversight, and no effective consumer protection tools.

The activity did not emerge because of the law. The law emerged because the activity already existed.

Regulation was the rational response. It was the way to bring an already existing market into a controllable framework, with licenses, concession fees, user identification, anti-money laundering requirements, advertising rules, and player protection mechanisms.

And yet, just eighteen months later, public debate is once again flirting with the same simplistic solution applied to vapes: the fantasy that prohibition would make the activity disappear.

By now, Brazil should know better.

In the case of betting, the country had chosen a different path: regulate in order to control. Protect consumers. Protect the broader economy.

To now return to prohibition as a response to a market that already exists would be more than a regulatory mistake.

It would be a historical contradiction.

Or perhaps simply the most comfortable expression of a certain kind of public moralism that would rather push an activity into the shadows than acknowledge its existence.

In political discourse, prohibition can sound like victory.

In practice, it often functions as morally comfortable packaging for rushed and politically convenient decisions.

This is nothing more than electoral fantasy. And this time, no one will be able to say they did not know how the story would end.

Thiago Iusim
Founder and CEO of Betshield Responsible Gaming

Betshield has announced the arrival of Amilton Noble as Advisory Partner.

The executive joins the company’s strategic core at a time of increased operational demands for licensed operators in the Brazilian betting market.

The move comes alongside a significant shift in how the sector is being evaluated.

Beyond regulatory compliance, recent court decisions have begun to consider not only the existence of formal user-protection policies, but also the platforms’ ability to demonstrate continuous monitoring and preventive action in response to risky behavior.

The evolution toward the “Trust & Protection” concept

Recognized for its pioneering role in Responsible Gaming technology, Betshield is following this evolution by expanding its presence within iGaming operations.

The company is structuring its proposition as a permanent layer of operational trust and protection, incorporating:

• Risk management
• Internal controls
• Ability to demonstrate due diligence

Leadership and experience

Amilton Noble has a consolidated career in the gaming, lottery and iGaming industries.

As Advisory Partner, he will contribute to the company’s institutional positioning and to the consolidation of more structured operational practices in the regulated environment.

According to Noble, the sector is entering a new stage of maturity:

“Market maturity depends on the ability to demonstrate diligence. This is no longer just a licensing discussion, but one of operational responsibility.

Operators will need to present evidence of monitoring and preventive action. Technology becomes part of the company’s own protection.”

A new market positioning

Thiago Iusim, founder and CEO of Betshield, states that the moment represents an evolution in positioning:

“Responsible Gaming has always been our starting point. But we quickly realized it was necessary to go beyond isolated functionality.

The market began to require the ability to demonstrate operational diligence. We structured the Trust & Protection concept: a permanent layer between operator, regulator and user.”

Betshield’s technology performs continuous behavioral monitoring, identifies risk patterns, and generates a documented history of preventive actions.

The platform has also incorporated an anti-money laundering (AML) module, expanding the scope of protection.

Recently, Betshield also announced a strategic partnership with CGS Events, placing player protection as a central theme of the 2026 events agenda.

Who is Amilton Noble

With more than 30 years of experience in gaming, betting, and lotteries, Amilton Noble has built a career closely tied to product design, operational models, and distribution strategies within the Brazilian lottery sector.

He began his career at the Brazilian Jockey Club, where he served as National Betting Manager and oversaw pari-mutuel horse-racing wagering operations.

Starting in 2001, at Hebara, he led the commercial area of Raspadinha do Rio and was responsible for developing products that became market benchmarks.

He also works as a strategic consultant for national and international gaming, iGaming, and lottery companies, focusing on regulation, payout structure, and the economic sustainability of operating models.

His work combines practical experience, critical analysis, and direct involvement in the sector’s evolution.

A Betshield anunciou a chegada de Amilton Noble como Advisory Partner. O executivo passa a integrar o núcleo estratégico da companhia em um momento de maior exigência operacional para operadores licenciados no mercado brasileiro de apostas.

A movimentação ocorre em paralelo a uma mudança relevante na forma como o setor vem sendo avaliado. Além do acompanhamento regulatório, decisões judiciais recentes passaram a considerar não apenas a existência de políticas formais de proteção ao usuário, mas a capacidade das plataformas de demonstrar monitoramento contínuo e atuação preventiva diante de comportamentos de risco.

A Evolução para o Conceito de “Trust & Protection”

Reconhecida por sua atuação pioneira em tecnologia de Jogo Responsável, a Betshield acompanha essa evolução ampliando sua presença dentro das operações de iGaming. A empresa passa a estruturar sua proposta como uma camada permanente de confiança e proteção operacional, incorporando:

• Gestão de risco.

• Controles internos.

• Capacidade de comprovação de diligência.

Liderança e Experiência

Amilton Noble possui trajetória consolidada na indústria de jogos, loterias e iGaming. Como Advisory Partner, contribuirá para o posicionamento institucional da empresa e para a consolidação de práticas operacionais mais estruturadas no ambiente regulado. Para Noble, o setor entra em uma nova etapa de maturidade:

“A maturidade do mercado passa pela capacidade de demonstrar diligência. Não é apenas uma discussão sobre licença, mas sobre responsabilidade operacional. O operador precisará apresentar evidências de acompanhamento e atuação preventiva. A tecnologia passa a ser parte da proteção da própria empresa.”

Um Novo Posicionamento de Mercado

Thiago Iusim, fundador e CEO da Betshield, afirma que o momento representa uma evolução de posicionamento:

“O Jogo Responsável sempre foi o nosso ponto de partida. Mas percebemos cedo que era necessário ir além da funcionalidade isolada. O mercado passou a exigir capacidade de demonstrar diligência operacional. Estruturamos o conceito de Trust & Protection: uma camada permanente entre operador, regulador e usuário.”

A tecnologia da Betshield realiza monitoramento contínuo de comportamento, identifica padrões de risco e gera histórico documentado de atuação preventiva. A plataforma também incorporou um módulo de prevenção à lavagem de dinheiro (PLD), ampliando o escopo de proteção.

Recentemente, a Betshield também anunciou uma parceria estratégica com a CGS Events, colocando a proteção do jogador como tema central da agenda de eventos em 2026.