The measure blocks the operation, offering, promotion, and advertising of fixed-odds betting nationwide, covering both sports betting and online casino products. It reverses Law 14,790, which Lula signed in December 2023 to bring Brazil’s unregulated betting market under government control.
How the shutdown will work
Under the transition rules, customers have until October 5, 2026, to withdraw their balances, while betting websites and apps must go offline by October 6, 2026, and any remaining funds will be returned to customers through operators’ banking partners between October 9 and 14. All federal betting licenses will be cancelled 30 days after the measure is published, and operators won’t get back the fees they paid for those licenses or receive any other compensation.
The measure also fully blocks new betting license applications, including ones that were still pending when it was signed. Advertising, marketing, and sponsorship deals connected to iGaming in Brazil are banned too, with all existing ads required to be removed within 10 days. Payment providers can no longer process gambling transactions beyond returning customer funds, and the government has set up a new inter-agency committee to enforce the ban and block betting websites in the future.
The provisional measure takes effect immediately but needs approval from Congress within 120 days to stay in force permanently. The government is also preparing separate legislation that would make betting activity a criminal offense, and with operators given only days to shut down and no clear plan yet for handling offshore platforms, the ban has now raised concerns about consumers turning to the black market.
What this means for the market
For licensed operators, the outcome is close to the worst case, as they get just days to shut down, lose their license fees, and receive no compensation for what they built. For the state, the ban ends a source of tax income that reached close to BRL 7.3 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, and the Ministry of Finance had already pushed back against tougher rules for that reason.
However, the bigger question is what happens to players. Brazil has a huge betting audience, and there is no clear plan yet for handling offshore platforms that will keep taking Brazilian customers. With licensed brands gone, there is real concern that many of those players will move to the black market, where there are no consumer protections at all. The next few months will show whether Congress will support the measure and whether the government can actually enforce it.
