Brazil’s National Congress has extended the Brazil betting ban for a further 60 days. An act signed by Senator Davi Alcolumbre, President of the Federal Senate and of the National Congress, and published in the Official Gazette on 11 November keeps Provisional Measure (MP) 1,394/2026 in force.
The Act of the President of the Congress No. 118 of 2026 appeared in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU). Without it, the MP’s first 60-day term would have ended on 23 November, according to the Congress page for MP 1,394/2026.
What the Brazil betting ban covers
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the MP on 25 September 2026, and it ran in an extra edition of the DOU the same day. It prohibits the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting across Brazil and amends Law 14,790 of 29 December 2023, the law that set up the licensed market.
New bets stopped as soon as the measure was published. Bettors could withdraw balances until 23:59 on 5 October, sites went offline on 6 October, and banks were given 9 to 14 October to return the remaining funds, according to the federal news agency Agência Brasil’s report on the MP. Lula said after signing the text:
I took a harsh and drastic measure that was necessary. This is like a cancer. Either we remove the tumour, or this tumour will kill us.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, on 25 September 2026 (translated from Portuguese)
Enforcement committee
The MP created an Interinstitutional Committee for the Oversight of the Illegal Operation and Advertising of Fixed-Odds Betting. The government listed three lines of work for it:
- finding and taking down illegal betting sites;
- freezing bank accounts used by illegal operators;
- sharing information between public agencies.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Federal Police received extra resources to investigate financial transactions linked to betting. The government said it decided on the ban after consulting the economic team, civil society and people affected by gambling, and cited data showing online betting cost Brazilian families R$62.5bn in 2025.
Next steps in Congress
The MP has been under urgency rules since 9 November, which means it now takes priority over other business in the house where it sits. The Congress page lists its status as awaiting the installation of the joint committee, with close to 100 amendments filed by deputies and senators.
The joint committee must vote first, followed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Under Article 62 of the Constitution, an MP not converted into law by the end of the extended term lapses, and the count is suspended during the congressional recess from 23 December to 1 February.
The measure is also before the Supreme Federal Court (STF), which heard 34 speakers at a public hearing on 3 November and has since suspended all lower-court cases on the ban. Lula’s own case for the ban is examined in our check of his economy claim.
Source: National Congress of Brazil
