Brazil bans online betting, a regulated segment since 2023, joining Albania and Cambodia

The Brazilian government has signed a provisional measure banning online betting in the country, a move that puts licensed operators in the crosshairs and, according to sector specialists, hands more room to the black market. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the practical question is simple: a market that was opened, audited, and then shut down is not exactly a comforting place to allocate risk.

1. Brazil had authorized the segment in 2018, with dedicated legislation approved in December 2023 under the so-called Lei das Bets. The market regulation only entered into force in early 2025, after companies in the sector underwent an audit conducted by the Ministry of Finance. The provisional measure was signed on Friday night (25/9).
2. The government says the goal is to reduce growing problems in the population, including mental health issues and household debt. In parallel, it is preparing a bill to criminalize bets and their supporters.
3. Caio Loureiro, partner at Tozzini Freire Advogados, was at an International Masters of Gaming Law conference in Paris when the announcement came out. He said the professionals present were “speechless” at the Brazilian government's move and called it the first time he had seen a government regulate a sector and then take such a rushed step to reverse course.
4. Loureiro’s point, from a payments and investment perspective, is the one operators care about: abrupt bans tend to push activity into illegal channels and scare off capital. He said companies active in land-based and online casinos will “think twice before investing in the country.”
5. Brazil now joins Albania, Kosovo, and Cambodia among countries that opened online sports betting markets and later suspended operations. Cambodia adopted a full ban as well, but with a phased period for operators to exit the market before the restriction takes effect in October. Albania suspended gaming in 2018 and reopened its market two years ago to fight illegal operations. The Netherlands followed a similar path, reopening the sector to suppress clandestine betting after a period of prohibition.

For high-risk payment providers, the detail that matters is not the politics; it is the operating model. A market can move from licensed to banned fast enough to leave PSPs, acquirers, and banks holding exposure to merchants, settlement flows, and compliance work that no longer fits the local rulebook.