Brazil bill would ban bets, block processing, and set fines up to R$ 2 billion

A new bill in Brazil would prohibit the operation, offering, advertising, and transaction processing of fixed-odds betting, including platforms based abroad. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the important bit is simple: this is not just a marketing restriction, it is a full-stack ban proposal that reaches payments infrastructure.

1. Bill 2972/26, introduced by Deputy Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF), would revoke Law 14.790/23, which currently regulates the activity. The draft bans the use of brands, algorithms, systems, and commercial structures tied to fixed-odds betting, along with any form of advertising, sponsorship, or promotional marketing.
2. The sanctions are not symbolic. Violators could face warnings, asset seizure, suspension of activities, and fines from R$ 50,000 to R$ 2 billion. Of collected fines, 50% would go to the National Health Fund, 30% to the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights, and 20% to the National Fund for Children and Adolescents.
3. Platforms with more than 1 million users would have to maintain dedicated complaint channels, implement audit mechanisms, and publish monthly transparency reports on removed content. That matters for operators and payment providers alike, because the bill is trying to build compliance obligations around the platform itself, not only around the ad layer.
4. The proposal also gives consumers free assistance from consumer-protection agencies, and allows debtors to invoke a “special vulnerability” status in debt renegotiation and collection proceedings for up to five years. For high-risk operators, that is a reminder that betting exposure can spill into collections and disputes, not just deposits and withdrawals.
5. Brazil’s Ministry of Finance said more than 25.2 million people bet on bets in 2025, and more than 217,000 requested self-exclusion and blocking on platforms that year, with 73.4% doing so indefinitely. The draft also says 22.7% of bettors in 2025 were up to 24 years old, and it would prohibit targeted ads, attractive elements, and the use of influencers aimed at children, adolescents, and young people.

For companies touching Brazil’s betting flow, the signal is clear: the political debate is moving from regulation toward prohibition, and the payment stack is squarely in scope. The bill still has to pass the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, but if you process for this vertical, this is the kind of text that forces a very practical question: which rails, merchants, and counterparties stay live if the law changes?