Brazil Bans Fixed-Odds Sports Betting

Brasília — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 September 2026 signed Provisional Measure No. 1.394, which bans the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting across Brazil. The text was published the same day in an extra edition of the official gazette and took effect on publication.

A provisional measure is a presidential decree with the force of law. It applies at once, but Congress must later keep, change or reject it under Brazil’s constitution. This one targets “apostas de quota fixa” — bets where the payout is set by a fixed multiplier — on real sports events and on virtual online games. Other lottery games already authorized by law are left alone. The ban covers physical and online offers, including operators based abroad who sell to people in Brazil, and it reaches state and Federal District licenses as well as federal ones.

Licenses end; fees stay with the state

Licenses and concessions issued under Law 14.790 of 29 December 2023 — the statute that built Brazil’s recent fixed-odds market — are extinguished 30 days after the measure’s publication. From publication day, no new licenses may be granted, and pending applications die. The measure says the shutdown is for public interest and that operators have no right to a refund of the grant fee or to compensation. The Health Ministry said 85 licenses had been issued at 30 million reais (R$) each, about R$2.55 billion in total, paid by operators to the government.

What bettors and operators must do

Ten days after publication, operators must take betting sites and apps offline, including in app stores, or face blocking. From publication, new money may not enter operators’ transactional accounts except in narrow cases tied to unwinding investments already held for bettors. Open bets that are not settled in time are void, with full refunds of stakes and no deductions; prizes already won by the deadline still must be paid.

After sites go down, operators have two days to prove they have the cash to repay bettors, send banks and payment firms individualized lists (with each bettor’s tax ID and amounts), and send the same proof to the Finance Ministry’s Prizes and Bets Secretariat. Banks then have seven days to return the money, preferably to the account it came from. Money that cannot be returned goes to a special account at the state-owned bank Caixa Econômica Federal under ministry supervision. Missing those duties can draw a fine of R$200,000 a day until fixed.

Advertising and enforcement

Advertising, marketing and sponsorship for fixed-odds betting are banned nationwide. Physical and digital ads must come down within ten days. Internet platforms have a duty of care to stop banned promotional content; app stores and operating systems must keep banned products off their shelves. The Finance and Justice ministries may ask for site blocking, with the telecoms regulator Anatel and Brazil’s internet steering committee helping carry out the orders. Banks and payment systems are barred from processing betting transactions except those needed to shut down and repay customers. The Central Bank is to build an electronic channel to reject and reverse illegal betting transfers. An inter-agency committee coordinated by the Civil House, the president's chief-of-staff office, will oversee the crackdown.

What happens next

Industry groups have said they plan to challenge the measure in Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court. The measure lapses unless Congress approves it, generally within 120 days. Separately, the government said it would send a bill to create new criminal penalties for illegal betting, advertising and related conduct; that bill is separate from the provisional measure and has not yet been sent to or passed by Congress.