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Operators will be able to deploy multiple platforms under their licences but may not offer multi-jurisdictional progressive jackpot games, according to Brazil’s gambling regulator.

Brazil’s Secretariat for Prizes and Bets (SPA) updated its on Wednesday (October 23) and Thursday to provide additional guidance to the now more than 250 companies with pending applications for a new federal licence to offer online gaming and sports betting.

Among other topics, the SPA confirmed that operators will be permitted to deploy separate platforms for each of the maximum of three brands or skins that they may offer under their licence.

That is likely a welcome clarification not only for operators that use multiple gaming or sportsbook platforms, but also for companies that may be looking to partner on a Brazilian licence.

At least two currently independent operators serving Brazil’s unregulated market — Betsul and Casa de Apostas — already have joined forces to submit an application via a single Brazilian entity.

Speaking at this month’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Betsul CEO Fernando Garita predicted that more operators would look to do the same, given that would allow those companies to split the stiff R$30m (US$5.3m) upfront licensing fee.

Still, there are challenges for any companies that may seek to consolidate their platforms and skins with those of other operators under one licence.

The SPA has previously indicated that amending or adding new brands to any pending application would restart the clock on its review and delay approval.

The regulator also specified this week that a licensee could only deploy multiple platforms “provided that each of the platforms and their integration, including for the purposes of sharing consolidated data across the brands of the operator via [the SPA’s central monitoring platform] SIGAP, are certified by an authorised certification body”.

Fernanda Meirelles, a partner at FAS Advogados in Sao Paulo, said the “flexibility” afforded to operators to offer up to three distinct skins and platforms “is particularly useful for companies aiming to assign different brands to specific types of games or sports betting”.

Licences can still only be awarded to one registered company, however, and it is not possible for two or more operators to submit a joint application. 

“Although companies may adopt corporate strategies or undergo structural changes, any such changes must be reported to the SPA for review,” Meirelles told 91����ԭ�� GamblingCompliance. “The SPA will determine whether the new structure continues to meet regulatory requirements and whether the licence can remain valid.”

Platforms and skins were not the only issue addressed by the SPA this week.

Elsewhere, the regulator clarified that all online casino games in Brazil’s regulated market must automatically display a paytable on screen whenever a player enters the game.

Every game also must clearly and transparently display its terms and conditions for players, and these rules must specifically be in Brazilian Portuguese and not that of Portugal.

This applies to live casino games as well, the SPA said, “such that all communication with players, whether by text, audio or audiovisual, including through dealers, must be in Brazilian Portuguese”.

The SPA further advised that licensed online casinos will not be permitted to offer progressive jackpot games in which prizes are pooled on a multi-jurisdictional or international basis.

The regulator said it was “legally infeasible” for the SPA to apply its regulations to online jackpots that could be won by players outside Brazil, or alternatively to allow foreign regulations to be applied to games under its own jurisdiction.