Brazil’s AGU to seek R$ 1 billion from 15 betting companies over gambling addiction costs

Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) is preparing an unprecedented lawsuit against around 15 betting companies, seeking about R$ 1 billion to reimburse the public health system for treatment costs tied to gambling addiction. For PSPs, acquirers, and merchants in the betting stack, the point is straightforward: this is no longer just a licensing or compliance story, but a direct attempt to push public-health costs back onto operators.

1. The AGU may file the case as soon as Sunday, 28/9, with Tuesday, 29/9, set as the deadline, according to SBT News columnist Túlio Amâncio. The claim would target expenses linked to ludopatia, the compulsive gambling disorder, and the money would be used to reimburse Brazil’s Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS).
2. The selection of the 15 companies was based on data from the Ministry of Health. The ministry identified practices among these betting houses that encouraged gambling addiction, which is the kind of detail that tends to matter later when regulators and prosecutors start building a paper trail around operator behavior rather than just the existence of the business itself.
3. Between 2018 and 2025, the number of treatment visits related to pathological gambling rose by about 140%, according to the Ministry of Health. That figure is now being used as part of the backdrop for the government’s effort to assign financial responsibility to the sector.
4. This is only the first case. The AGU is also preparing a second lawsuit aimed at holding betting companies responsible for debts incurred by gamblers, the so-called superendividamento (overindebtedness). That filing was initially expected on Sunday, 27/9, but the text has not yet been completed.

For high-risk payment providers, the practical takeaway is that Brazil’s betting market is entering a phase where civil liability, public-health reimbursement, and debt-related claims are being discussed in the same breath. That tends to change how banks, PSPs, and acquirers think about exposure, not just onboarding.