Brazil Extends Nationwide Online Gambling Ban Until March 2027

Brazil’s National Congress has given lawmakers another 60 days to decide the fate of Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which suspended online sports betting, casino games and related advertising nationwide. For PSPs and operators, the immediate point is simple: the ban stays in force for now, and the legislative clock now runs toward early March 2027.

1. The extension was signed by Senate President Davi Alcolumbre and published in Brazil’s Official Gazette on November 11. The provisional measure, issued by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on September 25, took effect immediately and ordered licensed operators to stop taking new bets and refund customer balances that were still pending payout.
2. On paper, the measure is temporary; in practice, it keeps the market frozen while Parliament argues over the shape of any permanent regime. Congress still has to approve the measure for it to become law, and if it misses the deadline, the measure loses its legal effect.
3. The proposal must first go through a joint committee of senators and deputies before being sent to both houses for a final vote. Legislators have already been nominated, but the committee has not started its work yet.
4. Congress has received 99 proposed amendments, five of which were later withdrawn. Some lawmakers want to restore regulated sports betting while keeping online casino games illegal, while other amendments would tighten advertising rules and ban gambling sponsorships involving sports teams, stadiums and competitions.
5. Government representatives have told Parliament it should resolve the issue before the end of 2026, but the extension now gives lawmakers until early March 2027 because of the upcoming legislative recess. That buys time, not certainty.

The shutdown has also triggered legal and operational fallout. Four constitutional challenges have been filed by groups representing the gambling industry, Justice Luiz Fux has suspended lower court proceedings while the Supreme Federal Court (STF) reviews whether such broad restrictions could be imposed by provisional measure, and earlier reports said the measure had left more than 3,500 people out of a job with thousands more on collective leave.