Brazilian Congress has not begun review of betting-ban measure after 40 days
Regulation3 min read
In brief
- The committee needed to review Brazil's betting-ban provisional measure, signed on 25 September, has not been installed.
- The reported final voting date is 4 March 2027, with the count suspended during recess.
- Government and opposition senators asked Congress president Davi Alcolumbre to speed up the process.
- The measure has 99 amendments awaiting review.
The provisional measure banning betting in Brazil, signed by President Lula on 25 September, has reportedly not yet started moving through the National Congress. The joint committee that must examine the text and issue an opinion before a floor vote has not been installed.
If the measure is not voted on within the constitutional period of 120 days, it lapses and all its effects fall away. Its initial validity is 60 days and ends on 23 November, and the government can extend it by a further 60 days. Because the count is suspended during the parliamentary recess, the final date for a vote is 4 March 2027.
From 9 November, when 45 days will have passed since publication, the measure enters an urgency regime. Urgency locks the agenda only of the house where the measure is being processed, and the text has not left the joint committee, which has not been installed. The report says the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies remains free, contrary to what has been reported elsewhere.
Without the committee, review of the 99 amendments submitted by deputies and senators cannot begin. Most of the amendments run counter to the position of the Planalto. They keep sports betting in place and provide for specific restrictions on advertising and online casinos.
The meeting that picks the committee's chair and rapporteur must be called by Congress president Davi Alcolumbre. He is reportedly focused on his campaign for re-election to lead the Senate in the next two-year term. Even the legislators named to the committee do not know when it will be formed.
On Wednesday 4 November, government-aligned senators Eduardo Braga and Cid Gomes asked Alcolumbre to speed up the process. The aim is to vote on the measure within the current legislature, which ends on 31 January 2027. Opposition senator Esperidião Amin backed the request and said in advance that he would vote in favour of the ban. Braga argued that betting consumes household money meant for food and causes illness among players.
Senators interviewed for the report reportedly assess that the Executive may be leaving the committee idle so the Judiciary resolves the issue, while still publicly defending the ban. PL Senate leader Carlos Portinho said that a priority item should not be left in a drawer. In his view, the measure had an electoral purpose, and the Planalto is now betting on letting it lapse or passing the decision to the STF.
On Tuesday 3 November, the STF held a public hearing on the constitutionality of the measure. Rapporteur Luiz Fux, a minister, defended the ban but stressed the need to discuss legal certainty and the economic effects of the prohibition. Health minister Alexandre Padilha said betting harmed women and the poorest in particular. He also said demand for treatment of gambling addiction in the SUS had grown by more than 200% in eight years. The CBF, the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee warned that the ban affects all of sport and proposed stricter regulation as an alternative.
The text bans sports betting and online games in physical and virtual environments. The ban also applies to state and district concessions and authorisations. The measure also makes illegal operation of the activity a crime punishable by imprisonment.