{"id":78807,"date":"2026-09-29T03:34:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T03:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/brazil-bans-online-betting-before-election-keeps-492m-in-licensing-fees\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T03:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T03:34:24","slug":"brazil-bans-online-betting-before-election-keeps-492m-in-licensing-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/brazil-bans-online-betting-before-election-keeps-492m-in-licensing-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil Bans Online Betting Before Election, Keeps $492M in Licensing Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Brazil\u2019s Provisional Measure 1,394 bans sports betting and online casinos, with sites offline from Oct. 6.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">The 85 license holders get no refund of the $492 million they paid, and operators plan to sue.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">A companion bill would criminalize processing betting payments, including through crypto.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>A Seismic iGaming Change Just Before Presidential Vote<\/h2>\n<p>Brazil\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planalto.gov.br\/ccivil_03\/_ato2023-2026\/2026\/mpv\/mpv1394.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Provisional Measure 1,394<\/a> was published in an extra edition of the official gazette on the evening of Sept. 25 and took effect immediately. It prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of all fixed-odds betting in Brazil, covering real sporting events and online casino games alike.<\/p>\n<p>The ban explicitly reaches operators based abroad that serve people in Brazil, and it also ends betting concessions granted by Brazilian states. Other lotteries authorized by law are exempt. President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva signed it at a ceremony in S\u00e3o Paulo, where Finance Minister Dario Durigan presented the measure. The move follows a week of reports that the government was <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/igaming\/brazil-weighs-banning-online-casino-games-by-decree\/\">drafting a ban by decree<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>New deposits have been barred since publication. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/agenciagov.ebc.com.br\/noticias\/202609\/presidente-lula-assina-medida-provisoria-que-proibe-as-bets-no-brasil\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">government\u2019s timetable<\/a>, bettors have until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 5 to withdraw their balances, and licensed sites and apps go dark from midnight on Oct. 6. Bets not settled by then are void and refunded in full. Operators then have two days to send each customer\u2019s balance to their banks, identified by taxpayer number (CPF). Banks have seven days to return the money: the government sets that window at Oct. 9\u201314, with the state-owned bank Caixa Econ\u00f4mica Federal handling anything that third-party financial institutions cannot return. Operators that miss those obligations face a fine of $38,600 (R$200,000) per day.<\/p>\n<p>The licenses, issued after the regulated market\u2019s January 2025 opening and notionally for five years, will expire 30 days after the law\u2019s publication, on October 25. The measure says the cancellation is in the public interest and gives operators no right to a full or partial refund of their license fees, or to any compensation. According to the government, it granted 85 licenses at $5.8 million (R$30 million) each, for a total of $492 million. Pending applications are void. All betting advertising and sponsorship is banned, and existing material must come down within 10 days. Internet platforms get a legal duty to stop betting content from circulating, and app stores and operating systems must block banned apps. Penalties range from warnings to fines of up to 10% of a group\u2019s Brazilian revenue, and to suspension for repeat offenders.<\/p>\n<h2>Including Virtual Assets<\/h2>\n<p>While the measure itself never mentions crypto, the companion bill Lula sent to Congress the same day mentions processing, settling or intermediating betting payments \u201cincluding through virtual assets,\u201d according to the Justice Ministry. It would carry two to four years of prison, with a harsher sentence for concealing where the funds came from. The bill still needs both houses of Congress, and its full text has not yet been published in the Chamber of Deputies\u2019 register.<\/p>\n<p>When the government <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/brazil-can-now-freeze-illegal-betting-operators-funds-not-just-block-sites\/\">gained the power to freeze illegal operators\u2019 funds<\/a> in June, forfeiture required a court ruling. Under the new text, it is declared in an administrative proceeding in which the operator can present a defense, \u201cand will not depend on prior judicial process.\u201d Seized monies go to the National Public Security Fund. Brazil already banned <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/b3-to-launch-bitcoin-linked-prediction-contracts-as-brazil-bans-polymarket-and-kalshi\/\">sports and political prediction contracts<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n<p>The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) said it was \u201ctaking appropriate measures to overturn the provisional measure by taking the matter to court,\u201d calling it \u201ca move unprecedented in the global industry \u2013 aimed solely at perceived electoral gain in the race for the presidency,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/igamingbusiness.com\/legal-compliance\/regulation\/president-lula-bans-betting-companies-brazil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iGaming Business reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Affiliate Better Collective cut its 2026 revenue growth guidance to 3\u20138% and its shares fell about 25% in Stockholm. \u201cRemoving that regulated market will not eliminate the underlying demand for betting,\u201d co-CEO Jesper S\u00f8gaard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamingintelligence.com\/legal\/236542-brazils-gaming-industry-reacts-to-abrupt-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cInstead, it risks pushing millions of players toward illicit offshore operators that have not made these investments, pay no local taxes and operate without the same player protections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>European lottery group Allwyn said its Betano brand is \u201cpreparing legal action to protect its rights in Brazil.\u201d Entain said it was \u201cdisappointed by this sudden development,\u201d which came \u201cwithout consultation of industry stakeholders,\u201d and now expects to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intergameonline.com\/igaming\/news\/industry-reaction-brazil-online-gambling-ban\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">land at the low end of its 2026 earnings guidance<\/a>, InterGame reported.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers can file amendments until Oct. 1. Because the measure\u2019s clock pauses during the congressional recess, Allwyn expects it to stay in force until early March 2027 even if lawmakers never vote on it. Lawyers who spoke to Estad\u00e3o <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opovo.com.br\/noticias\/economia\/2026\/09\/27\/bets-estudam-medidas-pos-eleicoes-e-devem-atuar-no-congresso-para-tentar-reverter-mp-de-lula.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">questioned whether the measure meets the constitutional test of urgency<\/a> required for provisional measures. An Atlas\/Bloomberg poll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opovo.com.br\/noticias\/brasil\/2026\/09\/28\/governo-lula-anuncia-proibicao-das-bets-no-brasil.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">released days before the announcement<\/a> found 75% of Brazilians support prohibiting online betting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like a cancer. Either we get rid of the tumor, or this tumor will kill us,\u201d Lula said after signing the measure. His main challenger, Senator Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and the Liberal Party (PL) candidate, called it \u201cpopulist, hypocritical and electioneering.\u201d He says he backs a ban on online casino games but wants to keep sports betting legal. The ban was a major issue throughout the campaign: AtlasIntel CEO Andrei Roman <a href=\"https:\/\/exame.com\/brasil\/o-que-muda-com-a-proibicao-das-bets-no-brasil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told Exame<\/a> that measures like this mobilize voters more than they change votes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/igaming\/brazil-bans-online-betting-before-election-keeps-492m-in-licensing-fees\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Brazil\u2019s Provisional Measure 1,394 bans sports betting and online casinos, with sites offline from Oct. 6. The 85 license holders get no refund of the $492 million they paid, and operators plan to sue. A companion bill would criminalize processing betting payments, including through crypto. A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362403,"featured_media":78808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}