Brazil’s betting ban triggers 500 layoffs at a call center as sector braces for 15,500 job cuts

Lula’s provisional measure banning fixed-odds betting in Brazil is already hitting employment: one major sportsbook has cut 500 call center workers, and the broader sector could lose 15,500 jobs, according to a study by LCA Consultores Econômicos and Cruz Consulting. For PSPs and vendors around betting, the message is simple: this is no longer a regulatory debate on paper; it is a live operating shock.

1. Brazilian betting companies and their outsourced service providers began layoffs after the government issued a provisional measure that banned fixed-odds betting in the country. One of the country’s leading sportsbooks dismissed 500 employees working in its call center.
2. The first wave of cuts has hit companies contracted for sponsorship and event work with football clubs, but large betting operators have also started reducing headcount. The LCA Consultores Econômicos and Cruz Consulting study estimates total losses of 15,500 jobs in the sector.
3. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the provisional measure on Thursday (25/9). The government also sent Congress a bill that would impose prison terms of four to six years for anyone operating betting in the country.
4. The political backdrop is not exactly ambiguous. A Datafolha poll found that 78% of Brazilians support ending betting, while 18% oppose it. Support is majority-backed across all demographic segments surveyed, with the highest level among women at 82%, compared with 74% among men.
5. Brazil’s 2024 RAIS labor data identified 67 formal occupations in the sector. The number of employees with signed labor contracts tripled in 2024, with average monthly pay reaching R$ 7,000 for direct hires and R$ 4,000 for outsourced workers, above the national average of R$ 3,200 in the same period.

Betano said in a statement on Friday (2/10) that it is complying with the provisional measure, but it also said the decision abruptly interrupts the development of Brazil’s regulated online betting market and puts at risk consumer protection, the fight against the black market, tax revenue generation, and the legal certainty needed for long-term investment.