Brazil faces fresh push to abolish regulated betting as lawmakers advance prohibition bills

Brazil’s regulated betting market is facing renewed political pressure after federal deputy Caroline De Toni filed a bill to abolish fixed-odds betting, adding to an earlier proposal from Rodrigo Rollemberg that would repeal the country’s Betting Law and prohibit commercial betting operations nationwide.

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies is considering multiple proposals that would reverse the country’s regulated fixed-odds betting framework. The latest, Bill 5,153/2026, was filed on August 24 by federal deputy Caroline De Toni (PL-SC) and seeks to abolish fixed-odds betting as a lottery modality and prohibit its operation, offering, promotion and facilitation throughout Brazil.

De Toni’s proposal would affect the activities currently covered by Brazil’s federal betting regime, including sports betting and online games. Under Law 14,790/2023, fixed-odds bets can relate either to real sporting events or to virtual online gaming events. Since January 1, 2025, companies have needed prior authorisation from the Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting to operate nationally.

The new bill would provide a 180-day transition period for existing authorised businesses to wind down operations. It also proposes mechanisms for blocking access to platforms and interrupting financial flows associated with operators that continue offering prohibited betting services. Reports on the filed text indicate that sanctions could include fines reaching R$2 billion and, in specified cases, criminal penalties for continuing unlawful operations.

De Toni’s initiative is not the only proposal seeking to dismantle the regulated market. Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) filed Bill 2,972/2026 on June 9. His proposal would prohibit the commercial exploitation, offering, advertising and processing of fixed-odds bets, including physical and online operations and platforms located abroad. It would repeal Law 14,790/2023 and relevant provisions of Law 13,756/2018.

Rollemberg’s bill also proposes extensive enforcement measures. According to the Chamber of Deputies, penalties could range from warnings and asset seizures to suspension of activities and fines between R$50,000 and R$2 billion. The proposal also contains provisions on advertising, consumer debt, gambling-related health support and obligations for large digital platforms to maintain reporting and transparency mechanisms.

Unlike De Toni’s newly filed proposal, Rollemberg’s bill has already entered the committee stage. On August 25, deputy Daniel Almeida (PCdoB-BA) was appointed rapporteur in the Consumer Protection Committee. The proposal is also scheduled for examination by committees dealing with social protection and family affairs, communications, finance and taxation, and constitutional and legal matters. The period for amendments begins on August 27.

The initiatives emerge little more than a year and a half after Brazil launched its fully regulated federal betting market. The existing framework requires federal authorisation and restricts authorised national operators to approved .bet.br domains, with the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting responsible for regulation, monitoring and enforcement.

Neither proposal has been approved, and Brazil’s current regulated betting framework therefore remains in force. De Toni’s bill has only been formally introduced, while Rollemberg’s proposal is at an early committee stage and would still need to complete the legislative process before becoming law. Nevertheless, the presence of several bills seeking outright prohibition shows that the debate in Congress is no longer limited to tighter advertising, taxation or responsible-gambling controls: some lawmakers are now pushing for a complete reversal of Brazil’s legal fixed-odds betting model.