Brazil’s AGU reviews possible action against Polymarket over election betting

Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) is studying whether to take formal steps against Polymarket over alleged betting tied to Brazil’s elections. The case matters for high-risk operators because it sits right on the line between regulated betting and prediction-market activity, with Brazil already having blocked the platform for more than five months.

1. The AGU has started reviewing the American platform after reports that it was hosting or facilitating bets linked to the Brazilian elections. According to JOTA, the office is waiting for information from the Ministry of Finance before deciding on “possible appropriate measures.”
2. The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and Anatel (the National Telecommunications Agency) have already received complaints about the case. The TSE shared the material with the AGU, and both the AGU and Anatel remain in contact with the Ministry of Finance.
3. Polymarket has been blocked in Brazil for a little more than five months. The decision came from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF), which said that only regulated betting is allowed in the country, such as sports betting. Prediction-market operations, where users bet against other users on future events, were broadly prohibited. At the time, more than 20 sites were blocked.
4. Even with the block in place, Polymarket reportedly continued to host election betting from servers outside Brazil. Users with a VPN could still access the site, and JOTA said the platform was accessible in more basic configurations in some states, allowing users to view percentages for certain scenarios, but not to use the betting mechanism. The app could also be opened, though without betting functionality.
5. Authorities also noticed content published on Polymarket’s Portuguese-language social media profile that promoted not only the platform, but also the lead of candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) among bettors, according to Núcleo. For the AGU, the issue is not just access but also whether the platform’s public-facing activity creates another enforcement angle.

The Ministry of Finance said that “Polymarket is blocked in Brazil, as are the social networks linked to the platform,” adding that “the possible access to the site by some users does not mean” the block has failed. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks watching Brazil, the signal is clear: the state is treating prediction markets as a separate enforcement problem, not just a technical blocking issue.