Brazil senator files bill to ban fixed-odds betting nationwide, with a 5-year wind-down for existing licenses

Senator Carlos Fávaro (PSD-MT) has introduced PL 4.977/2026 to prohibit fixed-odds betting in Brazil, including operation, offering, marketing, sponsorship, and intermediation, whether the operator is based in Brazil or abroad. For PSPs, acquirers, and platforms serving betting flows, the point is not subtle: the bill goes after both the product and the infrastructure around it.

1. Fávaro announced the bill in the Senate plenary on Wednesday (12/8). The proposal would ban fixed-odds betting, known locally as bets, across Brazil, and it would cover physical and virtual channels alike.
2. The text also prohibits the exploration, operation, offer, disclosure, advertising, sponsorship, and intermediation of this type of betting, regardless of whether the operator is headquartered in Brazil or overseas. That breadth matters: this is not just a product ban, it is a broad attempt to choke off the commercial plumbing around it.
3. There is a transition period for operators already authorized. Existing authorizations would remain valid only for the remaining term, with no renewal, and in no case could that term exceed five years after the law is published. From publication onward, no new authorizations could be granted and existing ones could not be expanded. Applications filed up to the publication date could still be reviewed.
4. The bill also says the extinction of authorizations would not create any right to compensation for lost profits or failed expectations of profitability. If enacted, the law would take effect 90 days after official publication. It would also repeal parts of Law No. 13.756/2018 and Law No. 14.790/2023, the two laws that currently regulate the sector.
5. Fávaro said he moved forward after hearing from families affected by betting during visits to municipalities in Mato Grosso. He cited a survey in seven municipalities, saying nearly 86% of respondents saw online gambling as a problem in their family or social circle. In his justification, he pointed to compulsive behavior, debt, reduced household income, and mental health harm as the sector’s main risks.

For high-risk payment providers, the important detail is the mechanism. If this bill advances, the Brazilian betting stack would face not only a licensing shutdown, but also restrictions on promotion and intermediation, which is where a lot of PSP and acquisition revenue sits in practice.