Announced on November 9, the move extends enforcement beyond website blocking, which the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) says has taken more than 47,000 illegal sites offline since Provisional Measure 1,394/2026 was published on September 25. Justice Minister Wellington César Lima e Silva said the fight can’t stop at websites when promotion continues through social media, although the profiles will only come down if the platforms hosting them act on the request.
The ministry has also asked for 1,027 betting-related groups and channels to be taken down and says it has identified 51,611 websites, 6,596 Facebook pages, more than 900 Instagram profiles, 1,442 Telegram groups, and 127 TikTok profiles linked to illegal betting promotion.
Separate monitoring by LegitBet, a tool used by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), found 802 Instagram profiles promoting 844 different betting sites in data consolidated on November 2, with almost 74% posting at least once every three days and 73% having between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. In one session on October 27, the system checked 908 profiles in under an hour and a half and found 626 sharing links to suspected betting sites.
Plínio Lemos Jorge, President of ANJL, said:
“We are talking about just one of the many networks available on the internet. And it is important to highlight the following: Instagram allows teenagers as young as 13 to open accounts. This entire audience is also exposed to these influencers and illegal websites, which do not prohibit access for minors.”
The ANJL, which is challenging the ban at the Supreme Federal Court, argues that banning the 85 licensed operators has left consumers more exposed to unregulated sites.
