Lula weighs a ban on online betting in Brazil as the regulated market defends the rules

Brazil may be heading from a newly regulated betting regime to a much tighter one. President Lula suggested sweeping restrictions, potentially including a ban, while the country’s licensed operators are still working under a framework that only started operating in 2025.

1. At an event in Maceió on Thursday, Lula said he would make “important announcements” and indicated he wanted to stop betting companies before they caused greater harm to the population. The scope is still being defined, but government sources said both sports betting and online casino products could be affected.
2. The proposal would mark a major shift for Brazil’s regulated online gambling market. Fixed-odds betting was authorized under legislation approved in 2018 and later folded into the regulatory framework created by Law No. 14.790/2023. The regulated market began operating in 2025 after the government set licensing requirements and the Ministry of Finance reviewed applicants.
3. Under the current regime, licensed operators are subject to regulatory supervision, taxes, and requirements tied to player protection and market integrity. The Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has also kept tightening measures against unauthorized operators.
4. In September, the SPA issued a new ordinance expanding procedures to identify and block payment transactions linked to illegal fixed-odds betting operations. For PSPs, that is the important bit: the compliance perimeter is not theoretical, and payment blocking is now part of the enforcement toolkit.
5. Reuters reported that the government has been examining different approaches over recent weeks, ranging from restrictions on advertising and online casino products to a broader ban covering sports betting and other online gambling activity. It was also assessing the legal and technical basis for the measure, while considering its possible effects on football clubs.

Football clubs could be hit as well. A ban on betting platforms would affect Brazilian clubs that have sponsorship deals with bookmakers, and the government has reportedly discussed support measures such as credit lines and debt renegotiation to absorb the financial impact if those sponsorships disappear.