Brazilian government prioritises bill to prohibit fixed-odds betting

Brazil's minister for Institutional Relations, José Guimarães, said at a press conference on Tuesday that the government wants Congress to approve three measures by 20 December, including the provisional measure that prohibits fixed-odds betting. The measure, MP 1.394/2026, has not begun formal consideration: its joint committee has not been installed and has neither a president nor a rapporteur, according to the minister's account. From 9 November, the measure will block the agenda of whichever chamber it is in.

The other two items the government lists as priorities are the public security constitutional amendment and the zero-fare public transport amendment. Guimarães said approval of the three would satisfy the administration, and on the betting measure he said the government would not give it up. He also said a fiscal adjustment package would not be a priority until the end of the year, a position that contradicts finance minister Dario Durigan, who has defended spending containment measures. The government will additionally need to approve the 2027 budget before the recess.

According to the source, the prohibition would remove federal revenue from operators and transfers to legal beneficiaries under Law 14.790/2023, including sport, tourism and the National Public Security Fund. The government is also promising a zero fare, the cost of which the minister said he could not estimate. The source reports that mandatory expenses already consume 91.7% of the federal budget, leaving 8.3% for investment and maintenance of public services.

The joint committee has not been installed even though party leaders have named its members, and the Congress portal lists the matter as awaiting installation. Members have submitted 99 amendments; five were withdrawn by their authors, leaving 94. The proposals point in different directions: one senator proposes ending the "tigrinho" and other gambling games and allowing only bets on real sporting events, while one deputy filed an amendment restricting the prohibition to those without valid authorisation and, in the opposite direction, proposed that operators have no right to return of the licence fee or compensation.

The source states that 23 November is not the real deadline: it marks the end of the initial 60-day period, with the official calendar providing for deliberation from 25 September to 23 November and urgency from 9 November. The measure is automatically extended for a further 60 days, with counting suspended during the recess, and its last day of validity is 4 March 2027, after which it lapses if not voted. The Supreme Federal Court is also involved: justice Luiz Fux upheld the measure's validity and called a public hearing for 3 November with the federal government, sector companies and football clubs, less than a week before the measure begins to block the agenda.

The source reports that the government's wishes depend on party leaders and on the presidents of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre, and the Chamber, Hugo Motta, who control the agenda of the two houses, and that President Lula and congressional leaders discussed the re-election of Motta and Alcolumbre on Tuesday in talks that covered the government's priorities for the next legislature. The public security amendment awaits the Senate floor after a vote was postponed over a dispute on reducing the age of criminal responsibility, and the zero-fare amendment still depends on the constitution and justice committee and a special committee in the Chamber.