Lula to Announce Brazil Bets Ban MP on Friday as Economic Ministers Say the Issue Is Still “Under Review”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to announce a provisional measure on Friday, October 25, in São Paulo that would ban bets in Brazil. For high-risk PSPs, the important part is not the political theater; it is the mechanism the draft appears to target: operators, intermediaries, and advertising, with the text still being finalized.

1. The announcement is set for 5 p.m. at the Edifício Matarazzo in São Paulo, after the Planalto Palace sent a preparatory document on Thursday morning for an economic measures announcement. The timing matters: it comes nine days before the first round of voting, with Lula tied in the polls with Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
2. According to reporting cited in the source, the provisional measure may prohibit online casinos and fixed-odds betting in Brazil. One ally of Lula described the measure as “very strong,” and the most likely scenario is a total ban on online betting sites, though the format is still under discussion and could be combined with bills in Congress.
3. UOL columnist Alicia Klein reported that technical teams spent Thursday morning closing the text, which is expected to stop domestic or foreign operators from offering, intermediating, or advertising bets in the country. The publication could come in a special edition of the Diário Oficial as early as Friday, or by Monday, October 28 at the latest. Another aide said the content is not fully closed and that more meetings will take place before Friday.
4. The economic team has not confirmed the decision. Dario Durigan, deputy minister at the Ministry of Finance, said the issue is still “under review,” while Planning and Budget Minister Bruno Moretti said the team is waiting for the decision before calculating the revenue impact, which should only appear in the November report. Moretti also said, “There is no legal basis yet to discuss this.”
5. The broader package is expected to include measures against household debt, including government purchases of old debts and steps against what is described as abusive credit offers. That is not a payments story by itself, but it matters because the betting restriction appears bundled with a wider consumer-credit intervention, which is exactly the sort of package that tends to create more moving parts for PSPs, acquirers, and merchants exposed to Brazil.