Brazil Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux temporarily suspended mandatory blocking and closure of active betting accounts held by Bolsa Familia and Benefício de Prestação Continuada recipients. The ban on new registrations remains in force, and a conciliation hearing is scheduled for 10 February 2026 at 15:00.
Operators must maintain the new-registration ban while pausing the specified account-blocking and closure duties.
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Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux gave the Attorney-General’s Office and the Prosecutor-General’s Office five days to comment on Ministry of Finance betting rules, in a 3 December order in case ADI 7.721. The proceedings concern claims that restrictions on social-benefit recipients and registered dependants are unconstitutional; the Brazilian Association for Economic Freedom says the rules also affect people who receive no benefits.
Betting companies in Brazil are preparing arguments for a Supreme Federal Court case over the use of Bolsa Família and other social benefits on betting platforms, while awaiting a conciliation hearing. Justice Luiz Fux’s provisional decision barred new registrations by benefit recipients but stopped existing accounts from being automatically blocked; the National Confederation of Commerce brought the case, while the National Confederation of Industry is seeking higher taxes on betting revenue.
The Brazilian Association of Economic Freedom (ABLE) asked the Supreme Federal Court to review Ministry of Finance rules that it says extend betting restrictions beyond the court’s interim order. The association says the rules affect registered family dependants who do not receive social benefits; it seeks urgent action to limit exclusions to the order’s scope. The court had not responded to the allegations, according to the report.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux cancelled a conciliation hearing scheduled for 10 February between the federal government and betting companies, extending the suspension of a Treasury order barring Bolsa Família and BPC recipients from betting. Fux had suspended the order in December after the National Association of Games and Lotteries challenged it; he cancelled the hearing because of a scheduling conflict with the court's Second Chamber.
Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office appealed Justice Luiz Fux’s decision on restricting online betting with social-benefit funds, arguing that the government lacks a technical method to distinguish those funds from other income. Fux had ruled that restrictions should apply only to money originating from benefits, rather than blocking beneficiaries from betting altogether; he also cancelled a planned conciliation hearing with betting companies.