Just over a week ahead of Brazil’s presidential election, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional executive decree on September 25, imposing an immediate nationwide ban on all fixed-odds betting operations, including sports betting and online casinos. The measure prohibits the operation, promotion, brokerage, and advertising of all fixed-odds gambling services across the country.
Under the new regulatory directive, gambling platforms are immediately prohibited from accepting new player deposits. Existing users must withdraw their account balances by October 5, while all related websites and mobile applications will be forced to shut down operations completely by October 6.
To remain permanently in effect, the provisional decree must secure approval from Congress within 120 days. Furthermore, the federal government has drafted supplementary legislation aiming to criminalize the operation and promotion of illegal gambling, alongside establishing a dedicated regulatory enforcement body to block unauthorized online gambling channels.
President Lula starkly characterized online gambling as a “cancer,” emphasizing that the government must take decisive measures to excise the “tumor” in order to tackle escalating social issues, including gambling addiction and severe household debt. Data from the Central Bank of Brazil reveals that local citizens spend approximately BRL 30 billion (approx. HKD 45.3 billion) per month on gambling activities.
Public opinion polls indicate that approximately 59.9% of Brazilian adults support the sweeping ban. However, Liberal Party presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro criticized the executive decree as politically motivated. Meanwhile, several major Brazilian football clubs—which heavily rely on lucrative gambling sponsorships—warned that the ban could trigger the immediate termination of key sponsorship agreements.
