Brazil court hearing examines online betting ban as Congress review remains pending
Regulation1 min read
In brief
- Brazil's Supreme Federal Court held a public hearing on Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, which would ban online betting.
- ABERT's Gustavo Binenbojm questioned the measure's constitutional basis and its effects on advertising.
- He said campaigns were withdrawn and sponsorship contracts ended within 10 days.
- The measure still requires examination by the National Congress.
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court held a public hearing on Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, which would prohibit online betting in Brazil, according to the report. The measure still has to be examined by the National Congress.
Gustavo Binenbojm, the lawyer representing the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (ABERT), raised doubts about the constitutional aspects of the provisional measure and about how it affects legal certainty and freedom of expression. According to Binenbojm, commercial advertising belongs to the system of expression and information freedoms and is also an expression of free initiative. He noted that in only ten days advertising campaigns were withdrawn and sponsorship contracts were terminated. Binenbojm added that the problem grows worse because the measure's effects could become permanent even if the National Congress were to reject the provisional measure. He also called the provisional measure a "verdadera anomalía institucional".
Luiz Gustavo Santos Lima, deputy attorney general of the Republic, urged that the debate lead to a responsible solution for the country based on rationality, avoiding passions prevailing over analysis of the arguments. Georgia Antony Gomes de Matos, a psychologist representing the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Social Service of Industry (SESI), presented data on the effects of excessive betting use.