More than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against online betting companies in Brazil since the Bets Law

Brazil’s regulated online betting market is already generating the kind of disputes PSPs and operators know very well: blocked withdrawals, unilateral rule changes, and accusations of gambling addiction. A Predictus analysis commissioned by BBC News Brasil found 10,627 cases filed against betting companies since 2018, with the pace still rising after regulation took effect in practice.

1. The numbers are hard to miss. In 2025, the sector generated R$ 37 billion, the first year regulation fully applied, and 5,488 new lawsuits were filed. Between January and May 2026, another 4,037 cases were filed, which means this year is on track to surpass 2025.
2. Predictus used AI to map cases in which at least one betting company appeared as a party, scanning 630 million records connected to courts across Brazil. Of the 10,627 lawsuits identified since 2018, 44.1% are still pending, 17.9% were dismissed without a ruling on the merits, and only 38% have reached any decision.
3. Among the 3,438 cases already decided, bettors won fully or partially in 59.2% of them: 589 full wins and 1,446 partial wins. Betting companies won 40.8% of decided cases, or 1,403 lawsuits. Another 607 cases, or 5.7% of the total, ended in settlement.
4. The biggest complaint is withdrawal blocking. The study breaks that down into blocked platform accounts in 636 cases, unilateral rule changes in 629 cases, and direct withdrawal blocks in 429 cases. Hendrik Eichler, CEO of Predictus and a legal intelligence specialist, said unilateral rule changes mean the operator changes a condition after the fact, and in practice the money almost never leaves the platform.
5. One example cited in the report involves a client of lawyer Felipe Bezerra da Silva. The player had a series of withdrawals blocked from February 2025 and, after accumulating R$ 1.15 million in casino play, had the account closed unilaterally by the platform. The operator’s lawyers argued in court that the amount stemmed from a system failure in the game and therefore should not be paid; Silva says the company has not produced concrete data to prove the error. The case was filed in May 2025 and is pending in the 9th Civil Court of Guarulhos.

For high-risk payment providers, the practical point is simple: once a market grows into regulated scale, withdrawal friction stops being a back-office issue and becomes litigation volume. In Brazil, that volume is already visible in the courts.