Brazil Congress faces 23 November deadline on online gambling ban

Brazil's provisional measure banning fixed-odds betting, including sports betting and online games, remains in force while Congress considers its future, according to the official record of the National Congress. The measure, provisional measure no. 1.394/2026, is still awaiting the installation of the joint committee assigned to examine it. The deadline for parliamentary deliberation is 23 November 2026, with the urgency regime applying from 9 November.

President Luiz Inacio Lula signed the measure on 28 September 2026. It prohibits the offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting platforms, including sports betting and online games, and took effect immediately. The source describes the measure as a reversal of the regulation of the sector pursued in previous years.

Under the measure, the deadline for users to withdraw available balances voluntarily expired on 5 October. From 6 October, sites and applications dedicated to fixed-odds betting had to become inaccessible. In the following days, operators were required to report amounts still to be returned to financial institutions. Authorisations granted to operators in the sector expired on Sunday 25 October.

The measure has now passed the main deadlines set for blocking deposits, closing platforms and ending authorisations, but the legislative process is not concluded. The congressional examination is to establish whether the ban is confirmed, amended or rejected, which the source says leaves a possibility open for operators. Lula was re-elected president in elections held overnight Italian time, defeating challenger Bolsonaro; the source states that his re-election does not by itself determine the measure's outcome.