Brazil's federal government has decided to shut down the online betting market it regulated itself. In a medida provisória (a presidential decree with immediate force of law) signed on Friday (25), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva banned the operation, offer, brokerage and advertising of fixed-odds betting across the country — covering sports betting, online casinos and the spin-off games that spread under nicknames such as "tigrinho", in physical venues and online alike.
The ban also reaches licences issued by state governments and by the Federal District, a point that had been contested since federal regulation came into force. From the moment the text was published, no new deposits may be accepted.
The timetable to 14 October
The decree does not switch the sector off at once. It sets a sequence of deadlines so that bettors' money can come back before the platforms disappear.
- 25 September: the decree is published and new deposits are banned immediately.
- Until 11:59pm on 5 October: bettors may voluntarily withdraw whatever is in their accounts.
- From 6 October: websites and apps go offline.
- 7 and 8 October: operators report remaining balances to the banks.
- 9 to 14 October: funds are returned to bettors.
- From 14 October: Caixa Econômica Federal, the state-owned bank, takes over any refunds not yet completed.
Breaching the ban carries fines of up to R$ 2 billion, on top of suspension of activities.
The numbers the government used
The justification offered by the executive is public health, not revenue. According to figures cited by the government, 28 million Brazilians had placed bets in the twelve months before 2023, and 10.9 million of them showed at-risk or already problematic gambling patterns. Treatment episodes linked to pathological gambling rose 140% between 2018 and 2025.
The government put the sector's social cost at R$ 38.8 billion a year — comfortably more than the state collected at the market's front door. Eighty-five licences were issued at R$ 30 million each, totalling R$ 2.55 billion.
"Our decision comes from the damaging effect the bets produced in Brazil," said Finance Minister Dario Durigan, who blamed earlier governments for regulatory failures in protecting children and in preventing money laundering. Lula was blunter: "This internet gambling is not betting, it is a disease," the president said.
What still depends on Congress
A medida provisória has the force of law from publication, but runs for 60 days, extendable by another 60, and lapses if Congress does not approve it within that window. The government expects a vote in November, once lawmakers return — a period when the legislative agenda will already be crowded by the election calendar.
Public opinion, for now, favours the executive. An Atlas/Bloomberg survey cited at the announcement puts support for the ban at 75%, with 71% strongly in agreement and 79% in favour of limiting betting advertising; 88% reject the idea that betting serves to supplement income. Support is highest among women, at 79%.
That leaves the other side of the ledger: betting money currently underwrites much of the sponsorship in Brazilian football, and that is where the decree is likely to meet its most organised resistance.
With information from Agência Gov, Agência Brasil and Brasil de Fato.
