Brazil freezes new betting deposits, gives players until October 5 to withdraw balances, and orders ad bans under provisional measure

Brazil’s federal government has issued a provisional measure that stops new deposits into betting platforms immediately and gives players until 23:59 on October 5 to withdraw remaining balances. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks working with betting operators, the important part is the plumbing: blocking, refunds, CPF-level reconciliation, and a hard deadline for ad takedowns.

1. The measure was issued by the federal government and takes effect immediately, but it still needs approval by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to become permanent law. Congress has up to 120 days to review it.
2. According to Finance Minister Dario Durigan, bettors with money left on platforms have a little more than a week to withdraw it. “As of today, no more money can be placed on betting sites in the country. The sites will remain available so bettors can withdraw the remaining balance until 23:59 on October 5,” he said.
3. If players miss that deadline, the repayment will be handled later by the banks that work with the betting houses. The government says that reimbursement should take place between October 9 and 14, and the withdrawal window applies only to bets that were previously authorized by the government.
4. From 0:00 on October 6, app stores, internet providers, and CGI.br (the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee) must block the betting sites and apps. Anyone trying to access the platforms will be redirected to a page with instructions on how to recover balances and with guarantees that funds will be returned.
5. The timeline is tight and very operational: until 23:59 on October 5, players may withdraw funds; at 0:00 on October 6, betting sites and apps go offline; between October 7 and 8, companies must inform banks of each bettor’s balances, identified by CPF; between October 9 and 14, the funds must be returned in full through financial institutions; and from October 14, Caixa Econômica Federal will step in to handle cases where there is some impediment.

Advertising is also getting hit. New ads for betting houses are banned as soon as the provisional measure is published, and operators have until 23:59 on October 5 to remove advertising, promotional, and marketing materials, both offline and online. The same deadline applies to removing brand names tied to sponsorship contracts.