Brazil’s federal government fears a Supreme Court judge may strike down the ban on online betting

Brazil’s online betting ban may not last long. According to a column by Matheus Leitão in Metrópoles, the federal government is worried that Luiz Fux of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) could suspend Provisional Measure 1.394/2026 and restore betting operations in the country.

1. On Monday (28/9), the ANJL (Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias) and the IBJR (Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável) filed a request to suspend the measure in three cases already under Fux’s rapporteurship. Their argument is straightforward: there was no urgency to justify a provisional measure, the government did not present technical studies to support the decision, and operators had already paid a license fee to operate for five years.
2. This week, Fux gave the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) 72 hours to respond. According to the column, the reply is expected by Monday (5), and after that the rapporteur may rule at any time. For PSPs and acquiring teams, that kind of timing matters because the legal status of the vertical can change faster than the operational cleanup.
3. The Planalto’s concern is echoed by the market itself. Operators and football club representatives, the column says, believe Fux is inclined to suspend the MP, mainly on the basis of legal certainty. In practice, that means the government’s betting shutdown could face an immediate judicial reset if the court sides with the industry.
4. The government is pointing to Fux’s earlier stance as a sign he recognizes the social harm attributed to the activity. Before the MP, he had already imposed restrictions on betting by Bolsa Família beneficiaries and on advertising aimed at children. The executive branch reads that history as a possible indicator of how he may approach the current case.
5. The Ministry of Finance said 28,65 million CPFs still have balances on betting platforms, totaling R$ 1,45 billion. The deadline for users to withdraw those funds is 23h59 on Monday (5), the same day the AGU is expected to file its response. The ministry also said that between 25 September and 1 October, it sent 10.435 illegal websites for blocking and requested the removal of 3.040 profiles and channels on social networks.

The government has also linked the sector to organized crime. A decree published on Thursday (1º/10) created a money-laundering enforcement coordination unit within the Federal Police, including a dedicated division for illegal betting. For payment providers, that is the practical signal: Brazil’s betting file is no longer just a licensing story, but a compliance and enforcement one as well.