Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was expected to announce a provisional measure on sports betting on 25 September, according to reports. As of 23 September, officials had not settled whether it would prohibit sports betting and online casino games or only online casino games.
Operators face uncertainty over whether a proposed measure would prohibit sports betting, online casino games or both.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during a live broadcast on Thursday that betting would not return if he won another term. Provisional Measure 1,394 must be approved by Congress by 25 November to remain in force, with a possible 60-day extension, according to the report.
The Minas Gerais government and Brazil’s Ministry of Sport told the Supreme Federal Court that a federal provisional measure banning betting advertising changed the legal context of an association’s challenge to the state decree. The court has not ruled that the case is moot; the minister noted that the measure still requires congressional approval and could lose effect.
The Minas Gerais government and Brazil's Ministry of Sport have told the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that a federal provisional measure banning betting advertising changed the legal context of a challenge to a state decree, according to the report. The action, ADI 8014, was filed by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) against the Minas Gerais decree restricting betting advertising on state public property and at events supported by the state executive.
Brazil's federal government is considering a provisional measure to tighten fixed-odds betting regulation. Some officials favour restricting or banning online casino games. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has discussed the issue with congressional leaders but has not decided whether to expand restrictions.
Regulus Partners said Lula’s re-election on 25 October leaves Brazil’s gambling sector in uncertainty, with four possible policy outcomes. The analysts put a 5% chance on a court challenge to the provisional measure succeeding and an 80% likelihood on the measure lapsing while licences also lapse; they said provincial licensing could offer a possible route forward.
Brazil's gambling sector faces uncertainty after President Lula's re-election on 25 October, according to Regulus Partners. The research firm said the result reduced the prospect that the Provisional Measure banning online gambling in Brazil would be reversed, and set out four possible policy paths.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has placed action against online betting platforms at the centre of his re-election campaign and signalled that he may seek to prohibit online casinos. Government decision-making was expected to begin on 23 September, while the report described a full or partial restriction as under consideration. Legalised betting companies paid R$30 million to the federal government for five-year operating terms, the report said.