Brazil finance minister pushes higher taxes and tighter ad rules for betting

Brazil Finance Minister Dario Durigan says betting should be treated “the same way we treat cigarettes,” with stricter regulation, higher taxation, and tighter advertising limits. For PSPs, acquirers, and merchants in the sector, the message is straightforward: Brazil is leaning harder on compliance, not softer.

1. Durigan said last week that the growth of betting companies “bothered” him and that he wants more taxation and more restrictions on advertising. He framed the policy shift as a way to control the expansion of betting in Brazil.
2. In an interview with UOL News, he said: “We need to treat bets the same way we treat cigarettes. As it is bad for health [and] it is bad for Brazilians’ pockets, we have to tighten regulations.” He also recalled that President Lula had previously advocated a ban on betting, but added that a general ban could push activity into an illicit market.
3. Durigan stressed that companies must follow Brazilian rules once they enter the market. “It’s not enough for these companies to enter the country and not obey Brazilian rules,” he said, adding that some sectors have become dependent on betting companies and that previous governments had given the industry significant weight in the national economy.
4. He said the government’s aim is regulation, not simply revenue collection. “Betting companies pay taxes not because the government wants to collect revenue, but because we recognized that they had a presence in the Brazilian economy and had to start contributing to the country,” he said.
5. On enforcement, Durigan said the authorities need to be “very tough” to inhibit growth in the illicit market. He also rejected the idea that the sector is being handled opaquely, saying there is “no secrecy whatsoever,” and said the government plans to proactively disclose data with support from the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union).

For payment providers, the practical read is simple: Brazil’s betting market is being treated less like a growth story and more like a controlled-risk category, with advertising, taxation, and data disclosure all moving closer to the center of the conversation.