Brazil's legal betting market, which launched on 1 January 2025, is facing political pressure from both ends of the spectrum. Legislator Caroline de Toni from the right-wing Liberal Party (PL) has introduced Bill 5153/2026 calling for a total ban on online betting. If passed, federal licences issued by the Ministry of Finance's Secretariat for Prizes and Betting would be revoked within 180 days. The bill also provides for blocking access to operator sites and stopping financial flows from the sector.
The main target is fixed-odds sports betting. Entain, Flutter Entertainment, Superbet, Betano and other international operators have already entered this segment. De Toni cites data from the fiscal bulletin of Brazilian states: net outflow from household budgets to betting reached 65.5 billion reais (£9.34 billion), around 0.68% of gross national disposable household income.
President Lula da Silva, who signed the Bets Law in late 2024, now openly criticises the industry. In an interview with the Não Inviabilize podcast he said that if no one can show a social reason for betting to continue, it should stop. The government already banned Bolsa Familia recipients — almost 60 million people — from placing bets in May 2025.
The right-wing opposition from PL, the largest party in parliament with 91 of 151 opposition seats, has found common ground with the left-wing government on the debt burden question. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, has not yet settled on a final position regarding a full ban, but his vice-presidential candidate Alfredo Gaspar confirmed that PL is considering either tighter regulation or a ban. Presidential and congressional elections are scheduled for 4 October 2026, and betting has become a campaign issue.
