Regis Dudena is stepping down as the leader of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) in Brazil to take on a new role within the Ministry of Finance.
Dudena’s exit was rumoured earlier this week and then confirmed by the SPA on Thursday. In his new role, Dudena will become the leader of the Secretariat of Economic Reforms.
He was appointed SPA chief in April 2024 and was tasked with establishing Brazil’s regulatory framework for betting. He then oversaw the launch of the licensed market on 1 January 2025.
In a speech on Thursday at the Bet On–Brasil event, Dudena said he was confident the SPA would continue to make progress following his exit.
“I leave with the conviction that the Secretariat will continue to fulfil its role and strengthen itself, provided that the agents in the sector understand the public responsibility involved in providing this service,” Dudena said.
Who will replace Dudena as SPA chief?
Regarding potential replacements, sources have suggested Fabio Macorin, who currently serves as the SPA’s undersecretary of monitoring and inspection, could step into the role.
Notably, it was Macorin who represented the SPA at ICE Barcelona last week.
iGB reached out to the SPA for confirmation, but had not received a response by the time of publishing.
Dudena’s review of the first year of Brazil regulated betting
In his speech, Dudena highlighted the advances made by the SPA since his arrival, particularly regulating a sector that had operated as a grey market for five years before the licensed market went live.
He said the SPA had filed and analysed over 300 licensing requests under his leadership, within the deadlines set for operators in 2024.
“The year for the regulated market did not begin on 1 January 2025,” Dudena explained. “There was intense work in 2024 to create the entire regulatory framework for the sector and structure the authorisation process for operators.
“It’s the first time in history that the state knows who can provide this service, who the partners and directors are, and can act more effectively in protecting people and combatting fraud and money laundering.”
Dudena attributed the SPA’s progress to its collaboration with other public bodies, including the ministries of health and justice, as well as the National Telecommunications Agency, with their shared work resulting in 25,000 illegal sites being shut down in 2025.
However, there is more work to be done to ensure compliance from licensees, as well as clamping down on the illegal market, he said.
In his view, the Brazilian market should aim for channelisation of between 60% and 70%, which would place it among other global leaders.
“The first challenge is to ensure that everyone understands that the rules must be followed. Those who do not comply will be audited,” he added.
“Combatting illegality is a necessary counterpart to protecting people, ensuring market integrity and supporting those who operate within the rules.”
Concerns over SPA manpower
Dudena’s departure comes amid ongoing concerns within the Brazilian betting industry over whether the SPA has sufficient staffing to effectively oversee the market and clamp down on illegal operators.
Udo Seckelmann, head of gambling & crypto at Brazilian law firm Bichara e Motta Advogados, highlighted the issue in a recent interview with iGB.
“They lack people working there,” Seckelmann said. “There are not enough people to work in a regulator that oversees this whole market.
“For some reason [the Ministry of Finance] is not hiring more people and, worse, they are actually changing people within the SPA very frequently.
“During [2025], I had some connections that just left the SPA or were hired in other places, even within the Ministry of Finance. So they changed their position.”