Brazil finance ministry sets reserve rules after betting ban
Regulation2 min read
Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting published rules on 10 November 2026 for moving and releasing financial reserves held by operators affected by Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026. Operators may seek authorisation to use reserves only when transactional-account funds cannot fully reimburse bettors. The rules allow release after reimbursement obligations have ended or when no known bettor claims remain.
New rules govern access to and release of online betting operators' financial reserves after the activity was banned in Brazil under Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026, according to the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance.
Operators may seek SPA authorisation to use their reserves if funds in transactional accounts are insufficient to reimburse bettors in full. Reserve funds cannot be moved without prior authorisation and may not be used for other operator obligations, including winding-down costs. Permission to use the reserves does not establish that transactional-account funds were managed in compliance with the rules or prevent a future determination of liability.
Requests to use reserves must include an application and a statement from the operator's administrators. Operators must give the reserve custodian an itemised list of bettors to be reimbursed, and the amount requested must match the total owed to those on the list. Operators must update the information when they identify an inconsistency, omission or discrepancy that could affect full reimbursement.
The secretariat will compare operators' requested amounts with account institutions' submissions through SIGAP concerning bettors who have not been fully reimbursed because of insufficient funds. Operators must account for any differences between their requests and the institutions' submissions. Any authorised amount is capped at the outstanding sum owed to bettors and must be transferred in full to an account designated by Caixa Econômica Federal.
Once its assessment is complete and regulatory obstacles are absent, the secretariat will send the custodian a letter authorising liquidation up to the approved amount and transfer of the corresponding funds. On receiving the letter, the custodian must send the itemised list of bettors through SIGAP; the funds must be transferred after the list is processed.
A betting operator with no known debts to bettors may apply to have its reserve funds released once it has completed the specified reimbursement procedures. The application must include an administrators' statement, audited accounts and a special assurance report; the independent auditors must be registered with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission. The audited accounts must relate to the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025 and the company's financial position on 31 October 2026 or a later date.
In reviewing an operator's documents, the secretariat will consider the assurance report and look for signs of known debts still owed to bettors. Once that review is complete, if no regulatory obstacles remain, it will send the custodian a letter authorising liquidation and release into an operator account available for unrestricted use.