Brazil bans fixed-odds sports betting and orders sponsorship removal

Brazil has published a provisional measure banning fixed-odds sports betting and related advertising and sponsorship, introducing a shutdown process for operators and protections for customer balances. Signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on September 25, Measure 1,394 covers both physical and online operations, including overseas companies offering bets to people in Brazil.

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The text published by the Brazilian presidency extends the prohibition to bets on real sporting events and virtual online games. Other lottery categories authorised by law are excluded. Existing operating permissions are to expire 30 days after publication, while new permissions are barred immediately. Operators remain responsible for obligations arising from the period in which they were authorised.

For the sports industry, the measure also requires the removal of betting advertisements and sponsorship displays from physical and digital media within ten days of publication. The restriction covers material aimed at Brazilian audiences that promotes betting or facilitates access to it, regardless of format or payment arrangement. Previously published content containing betting advertising incidentally is exempted under a separate provision.

CNN Brasil reported that Finance Minister Dario Durigan presented the measures at an event in São Paulo and said betting websites and sponsorships would cease from October 6. Its published timetable gives customers until 11.59pm on October 5 to withdraw funds voluntarily. The government also sent Congress a separate bill proposing tougher rules against the illegal betting market, according to the broadcaster.

The provisional measure bars new customer deposits from publication, subject to a narrow exception for existing customer investments being liquidated to meet repayment obligations. Unsettled bets whose results are not determined by the shutdown deadline must be cancelled and refunded in full, without deductions. Customers retain the right to prizes from bets resolved before that deadline.

Operators must identify the money owed to each customer and provide the necessary information to financial institutions for repayment. Funds earmarked for refunds must remain separate from company assets. The measure also provides for blocking unlawful betting sites and establishes an interinstitutional enforcement committee. Closure does not remove operators' duties concerning taxation, sports integrity, anti-money-laundering controls or the retention of records for at least five years.