Brazil’s sports betting decision is still open as Lula weighs the next regulatory step

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has again stopped short of saying what his government will do next with the country’s sports betting market. For operators and PSPs, the key point is simple: Brazil already has a federal framework, but the political direction of travel is still unclear.

1. In an interview aired by SBT Brasil on September 10, Lula said his administration had listened to opinions from different parts of society before reaching a conclusion. He said the government had organised the feedback collected during its consultation process, but did not say whether the next step would be tighter restrictions, changes to the current framework or a broader prohibition.
2. The issue matters because Brazil already has a federal regime for fixed-odds betting. The Ministry of Finance says sports betting was legalised under Law No. 13,756/2018, while online games were later included under Law No. 14,790/2023. Since January 1, 2025, operators have needed federal authorisation to operate nationally under the regulated system.
3. Lula said the debate has split sharply between calls to close betting platforms, arguments for keeping them regulated and demands for action against conduct seen as harmful. He said he had heard from people opposed to betting platforms and from people who said gambling-related debt had affected their families.
4. He also referred to people familiar with cases in which gambling debt was associated with suicide, putting consumer protection and social harm at the centre of the policy discussion. The president said the government had already “recorded and organised” what it heard during the consultation process, then added: “Don’t ask me what the decision is, because I am not going to tell you.”
5. The uncertainty is sharper because Lula made stronger comments less than two weeks earlier. On September 1, he met civil society representatives at the Planalto Palace and said the government needed to consider “a more drastic decision,” but the excerpt provided does not include a final policy line.

For high-risk operators, the practical takeaway is that Brazil is not a blank slate: the regulated framework exists, federal authorisation is already in force, and any further move from Brasília will sit on top of that structure rather than replace it by default.