Brazil’s licensed operators may not return to the market they left even if the Brazil betting ban is suspended, Carlos Lima, President of the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), told Folha de S.Paulo in an interview published on 29 October.
The industry is waiting for Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Luiz Fux, the rapporteur in the lawsuits against Provisional Measure (MP) 1,394/2026, to rule on a preliminary injunction. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the MP on 25 September, ending the federal regulated betting market.
Fux to rule on the Brazil betting ban
Lima said every day without an injunction adds to the damage for licensed operators and their staff.
Of course we would like Justice Fux to grant the injunction as quickly as possible, because the longer it takes to grant it, the more the negative effects of the ban, such as layoffs, increase.
Carlos Lima, President, Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), to Folha de S.Paulo (translated from Portuguese)
Fux has called a public hearing on the case for 3 November. Congress has 120 days to vote on the MP before it can become permanent law. Flamengo, which receives R$268.5m a year from its Betano sponsorship according to Folha, has filed a challenge in the STF case.
Cancelled licences
The cancellation of operators’ authorisations is one of the effects set out in the MP. The Ministry of Finance had planned to issue an ordinance revoking the licences on 25 October but had not done so by 29 October, and some lawyers argue the cancellation takes effect automatically. The ministry told Folha that operators must still meet the remaining obligations, which run until 15 December 2026.
Each licensed operator paid R$30m for its authorisation and set aside R$5m as a financial reserve. The government collected about R$2.55bn from 85 authorisations and has said the money will not be refunded.
More than 3,500 people are estimated to have lost their jobs in the sector, according to Folha. Once licences are formally cancelled, companies only need to keep their statutory directors, which could speed up the cuts.
Some companies have cut their workforce in Brazil drastically. They laid off practically all their staff and kept only the basic structure the company needs to remain minimally legal here in Brazil, which is the legal and compliance departments, but areas such as customer service, for example, were shut down.
Carlos Lima, President, Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), to Folha de S.Paulo (translated from Portuguese)
A smaller market after the MP
People in the market told Folha, on condition of anonymity, that some investors do not plan to return to Brazil even if the MP is reversed. The IBJR said it could not yet say how many companies have left for good. Lima expects smaller operators without the backing of large groups to be hit hardest.
It is hard to say how many and which companies will not be able to return to operating. But small companies, which do not have the backing or support of large groups, may not have the strength to continue in Brazil. I think the sector will not go back to how it was before.
Carlos Lima, President, Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), to Folha de S.Paulo (translated from Portuguese)
The IBJR and the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) have launched a campaign on club shirts and pitch-side boards, with Flamengo, São Paulo and Fluminense playing league matches with the line “Proibir não é proteger” (banning is not protecting). The IBJR has separately flagged 60,477 illegal betting sites since the ban. Lima said the industry had been in talks with the Ministry of Finance on advertising and consumer protection rules before the MP.
Next steps
The STF public hearing takes place on 3 November, and the industry expects Fux to decide on the injunction in the coming days. Operators’ remaining obligations under the MP end on 15 December 2026. Brazil’s licensed market generated about $7bn in GGR in its first regulated year. More coverage of the region is on our LatAm news page.
Source: Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR)
