Lula bans online betting in Brazil and rolls back the 2023 regulatory framework

Brazil’s president signed an immediate provisional measure that bans online casinos and fixed-odds betting, with deposits stopped and sites set to be blocked on 6 October. For PSPs and acquirers, the important part is not the politics; it is that Brazil just moved from regulated access to a full shutdown, with a short wind-down window and a legislative follow-up aimed at criminalizing operators.

1. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the measure on Friday (25/9) in São Paulo. The order reverses the regulatory framework approved by his own government in December 2023, less than three years after the sector was legalized.
2. The provisional measure takes effect immediately, but it still needs approval from the Congresso Nacional within 120 days to remain in force. The government also plans to send lawmakers a bill to criminalize bets and their operators; that second track only takes effect after legislative approval.
3. The ban covers online casinos, including Jogo do Tigrinho, and fixed-odds betting, where the player bets on real-world events such as football matches with payouts set in advance. Advertising by the sector is also prohibited, and new deposits into platforms will no longer be allowed.
4. Users have until 23:59 on 5 October to withdraw balances held in their accounts. On 6 October, the sites will be blocked. The government said it will publish instructions on how to recover any remaining funds after the shutdown.
5. The stated justification is household debt. The government says at least 82% of families in Brazil have some type of debt due or overdue, a record level, and points to online betting as one of the drivers, saying it drains billions from household budgets.

In parallel, the finance minister announced a new debt renegotiation program for individuals, focused on older debts and structured around the government buying those debts at a discount. In May, the government had already launched Desenrola Brasil with a similar objective.

Industry representatives called the move “the destruction of the sector” and warned that prohibition will push activity into the black market. Even under regulation, estimates put illegal betting at between 38% and 44% of total betting consumption in Brazil, which is the number PSPs and acquirers will care about when they look at what gets routed, blocked, or quietly redirected.