After meeting with Lula, Febralot asks for a seat in Brazil’s betting debate

The Brazilian Federation of Lottery Companies (Febralot) is pushing for formal participation in the federal discussion on fixed-odds betting in Brazil, arguing that lottery operators should be part of the regulatory conversation, not just distribution points. For PSPs and payment partners, the key point is simple: if the state tightens the rules, the people running the physical network want a say in how betting is sold, monitored, and settled.

1. Febralot said it was concerned that no representatives from the lottery retail network were invited to the meeting held on Tuesday by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss the impact of fixed-odds lottery-style betting in Brazil. The meeting included representatives from the government, religious groups, the financial system, industry, commerce, health, and consumer protection.
2. During the hearing, Lula said he intended to discuss with his team the adoption of stricter measures for the sector. Febralot said it recognizes concerns around debt, excessive advertising, protection of children and teenagers, and problem gambling, but argued that any decision of this size should be built on broad dialogue, concrete data, and the participation of the segments directly affected.
3. Ricardo Amado, president of Febralot, said: “We are not ignoring the problems presented to the president. Concerns about health, household debt, excessive advertising and the protection of the most vulnerable are legitimate. But any decision needs to be made with balance, responsibility and the participation of those who know the activity and serve the population every day.”
4. Febralot is asking for a formal place in the next discussions led by the federal government. According to the federation, the lottery retail network has more than 13,000 outlets, is present in more than 5,000 municipalities, and generates approximately 70,000 direct jobs. It says these are Brazilian business owners who invest, pay taxes, maintain identified physical locations, and provide essential services to the public.
5. Febralot also wants lottery operators to be seen as more than promotional points or secondary channels for products developed by third parties. The federation says the network should have the right to participate, on economically sustainable terms, in the physical and digital models that may be authorized for fixed-odds betting, through different regulatory and commercial structures, including solutions developed by the category itself, in line with the law.

For high-risk payments operators, the useful read here is that Brazil’s betting debate is not just about consumer protection and ad limits; it is also about who gets to touch the distribution layer. If lottery retailers win a formal role, that affects licensing, merchant setup, settlement flows, and the number of hands in the chain that a PSP has to manage.