Brazil's Blask Index fell 20.1% week-on-week after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Medida Provisória 1.394 on 25 September, banning fixed-odds sports betting and online gaming nationwide. The provisional measure prohibits operation, offering and advertising of fixed-odds sports betting and online games across Brazil, including offshore platforms serving Brazilian users.
The decree took effect immediately: deposit acceptance stopped on publication day, withdrawals remained open until 23:59 on 5 October, and betting sites and apps were required to cease operations from 6 October. The government also submitted a bill to Congress proposing criminal penalties for five betting offences, with sentences ranging from two to six years.
The index spiked 41.45% day-on-day on 26 September when the ban made headlines, but the weekly drop reflects the market's response to actual closure rather than news of it. Three days after signing, on 28 September, industry associations filed suit in the Supreme Federal Court seeking to suspend the measure, citing irreversible damage.
The decree's fate remains undecided. As a provisional measure, MP 1.394 takes effect at once but must be ratified by Congress within 120 days to become permanent law. The Supreme Court lawsuit opens a second, faster route to reversal.
Brazil legalised fixed-odds betting only two years ago. An attempt at full prohibition this soon, challenged in court within days, marks a sharp reversal for one of Latin America's largest regulated markets.
