ANJL urges renewed dialogue over Brazil's online betting ban

Brazil's National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) issued a statement congratulating President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election in the second round held on Sunday 25 October, and said it expected dialogue to be restored and the democratic rule of law to prevail. The association, which represents fixed-odds betting companies in Brazil, said it had not been consulted by the government before the decision to ban online betting.

The ban was introduced by Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, published on 25 September. According to the association, the measure's future rests with the National Congress, which must vote on it, and with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), where Justice Luiz Fux is rapporteur of the direct actions of unconstitutionality against the measure and has said he will decide after the elections. ANJL itself is the author of one of the actions in the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) seeking suspension of the measure's effects and confirmation of operators' authorisations, which expired on the day of the second round.

The statement also responds indirectly to Lula's remark in a live broadcast with federal deputy André Janones on 22 October that the bets would not return. ANJL reaffirmed its commitment to social welfare and said it was available, once again, to work with Congress and the Executive to improve the regulated market and combat illegal betting, which, according to the association, dominated the country during the prohibition on licensed companies.

According to the association, the illegal market still accounted for more than 40% of bets before the prohibition, despite 22 months of regulation. With the departure of authorised operators, bettors lost protections provided under regulation, such as identity verification, deposit limits and customer service channels, and became exposed to platforms without state control, ANJL said.

ANJL was launched in March 2023. Its members include Aposta Ganha Loterias, Esportes Gaming Brasil, BETBR Loterias, Upbet Brasil, Big Brazil Tecnologia e Loteria, Hiper Bet Tecnologia, SorteNaBet Gaming Brasil and the Sistema Lotérico de Pernambuco, among others.