Brazil betting ban: a compromise limited to sports betting

Brazil banned online betting in September. Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux's ruling, effective from November 8, suspended all lower court cases against Interim Measure 1.394. The measure prohibits fixed-odds betting and revokes the licenses of international operators such as Flutter, Entain and Betsson. The measure has the force of law until Congress votes on it.

Most of the amendments in Congress that would benefit the sector allow sports betting while keeping online casino games banned. These games include the popular Fortune Tiger slot. Carlos Akira, vice president of corporate relations at PAGOS, says there is political room for a compromise, but that it is unlikely to be approved in the measure's initial timetable.

The biggest impact on sports is seen in football. According to data from the consultancy Sports Value, betting operators paid a total of 1.14 billion reais (185 million euros) in sponsorship to Brazil's 20 top-earning clubs in 2025. Sports media is also affected. According to a report by Folha de S.Paulo, Canal Goat, which has more than 5.4 million subscribers, has dismissed its commentators and is preparing to end broadcasting agreements for foreign leagues.

Betting industry expert Erich Beting says a compromise will not restore former revenue levels. He says businesses that are heavily tied to betting companies in their operations and have failed to recognize the change in the market will struggle to survive in the short term. According to Beting, the market will either disappear completely or return as a much smaller one with much stricter advertising rules. He adds that a partial opening would also start a new debate, particularly over whether advertising and promotion of betting should be allowed.

Filipe Rodrigues, a lawyer on the integrity and betting committee of the Global Sports Integrity Alliance (SIGA), says the options the government has not considered include limiting betting to sports betting on real matches and permanently closing online casinos. In his view, a total ban is the most damaging measure that could be applied to this market, and it discourages foreign capital from seeing the country as a place with legal predictability.

Gross gaming revenue in the regulated market reached approximately 37 billion reais (6 billion euros) in 2025. However, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), the regulator under the Ministry of Finance, published this figure on a consolidated basis without breaking it down into sports betting and online games. This means Congress is debating how to divide the market without official data on the weight of each segment, and industry estimates vary widely.