Lula signs measure banning fixed-odds betting in Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026 on 25 September, banning fixed-odds betting nationwide, according to a report citing GamblingNews. Operators were given until 4 October to wind down their offerings, and that deadline has passed. The report says the longer-term future of the sector remains unsettled.

Since 2025, Brazil has operated a regulated iGaming sector supervised by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting. That framework let licensed companies enter the market and gave the government a possible source of revenue. Lula pointed to internal polling from his Workers' Party showing that most Brazilians opposed gambling platforms, the report says, and to a study reporting over two million people with clinical gambling addiction plus another 7.5 million problem gamblers. The report presents these numbers as claims it passed along rather than figures it verified independently.

According to the report, a nationwide prohibition struck lawmakers and industry representatives as too drastic. They worry most that shutting out licensed options could push consumers to operators beyond the regulated system, where oversight and protections may be thinner. Both companies that joined under the updated licensing regime and legacy operators active before it are affected by the measure. Firms paid substantial sums for Brazilian licences, and industry experts quoted by GamblingNews think operators could unite to demand compensation from the government.

The report cites a 2025 study, commissioned by the National Association of Games and Lotteries together with the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming, which found that the industry supported over 15,000 jobs. Operators have cautioned that if restrictions drag on, businesses fighting to stay financially viable could be forced into major staff cuts.

There are signs the fallout is spreading past licensed operators already. Blask data cited by Yogonet showed offshore brands taking 3.4% of Brazilian iGaming demand on September 24 and 9.9% on September 29. The same outlet reported that affiliate coverage for the 20 most promoted brands dropped 41.5% in a week, from 715 sites to 418. The report treats these numbers as market signals rather than evidence that the ban has moved players offshore for good. It was reported that licensed platforms still allowed withdrawals while betting activity shrank.

Brazil's general elections are under way as the ban takes effect. Experts quoted by GamblingNews suggest it may have played a part in Lula's lacklustre first-round performance, though the report does not measure how large any electoral effect was. Flávio Bolsonaro is named in the report as Lula's top rival, and some industry representatives think regulated gambling could return if Bolsonaro wins. The report frames that as a possibility, not a settled policy outcome, and adds that tighter rules could follow any return of licensed operations to answer public concern.

Operators must now focus on winding down operations, preserving jobs where they can and weighing possible claims. Industry experts anticipate that compensation or missed-profit claims could be brought, though the report does not state that any litigation has been filed yet. Brazil has thus gone from a licensed market to a ban on fixed-odds betting, and it has not settled what will take its place.