Sinafut asks Luiz Fux to suspend Brazil’s ban on bets, or give football a six-month transition

The National Union of Professional Football Associations and Clubs (Sinafut) has asked Supreme Federal Court (STF) minister Luiz Fux to join the case challenging Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, which bans bets in Brazil. For high-risk payments and sports sponsorships, the point is simple: if the ban sticks or takes effect on 5 October 2026 without a transition, a lot of merchant revenue tied to Brazilian football gets hit at once.

1. Sinafut filed its request on Tuesday (29/9), days after President Lula announced the MP on Friday (25/9). The union is asking for the measure’s effects to be suspended until Congress rules on the issue or until the STF decides the pending actions.
2. If that request is denied, Sinafut wants a six-month transition period before the ban takes effect. Its core argument is the sports calendar: the blocking of betting sites is scheduled for 5 October 2026, which the union says falls during the final stretch of national competitions and state finals, when brand exposure and contractual monetization are highest.
3. The process Sinafut wants to join was brought by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR), which represent betting companies. Those groups are asking Fux to suspend the MP immediately. The report was first published by Metrópoles and later confirmed by Globo.
4. With Sinafut now aligned with that challenge, the anti-MP front officially includes bets, clubs, federations, and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). That matters because the dispute is no longer just about operators; it is now about the wider payment chain around football sponsorships and commercial contracts.
5. Financial dependence is the real backdrop here. Of the 20 clubs in Brazil’s Série A, 14 have master sponsorship deals with betting companies. The sector is expected to move around R$ 1.1 billion through Brazilian football in 2026, the same volume as the previous season, according to the industry itself.

The CBF and the organizers of Brazil’s main competitions are also watching closely. Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa do Brasil, the country’s two biggest tournaments, have their naming rights sold to Betano, one of the main sponsors in Brazilian football. For PSPs, acquirers, and banking partners, that is the kind of commercial dependence that turns a regulatory filing into a settlement problem very quickly.