Brazil’s new debt relief programme targets credit-funded betting payments

Brazil’s Novo Desenrola Brasil programme introduces a new layer of financial control over betting activity, banning credit operations directly linked to fixed-odds betting payments and blocking debt-renegotiation participants from betting platforms for 12 months.

Brazil has introduced new restrictions connecting household debt relief with the regulated betting market, as the government tries to reduce the financial risks associated with online gambling. Under Provisional Measure No. 1,355, signed on May 4, 2026, the Novo Desenrola Brasil programme creates a new framework for renegotiating debts of families, students, small businesses and other groups, while adding specific restrictions related to fixed-odds betting.

One of the most important provisions is Article 16 of the provisional measure, which prohibits financial institutions from granting credit operations directly linked to the transfer of funds for fixed-odds betting. In practice, the rule is designed to prevent players from using credit-based financial products to fund betting deposits, closing a loophole in Brazil’s payments system.

The measure comes as Brazilian authorities grow more concerned about the relationship between online betting, household indebtedness and digital payments. Industry reporting has noted that credit-linked Pix transactions have been one of the key concerns, because a payment may reach a betting operator as a Pix transfer even when the underlying source of funds is credit.

Novo Desenrola Brasil also includes a separate betting-access restriction for people who renegotiate debts under the programme. According to the Ministry of Finance, participants who sign a new debt-renegotiation contract will have their CPF blocked from authorised fixed-odds betting platforms for 12 months, covering registration, access, account movement and betting activity.

The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting has already published operational rules for licensed operators. SPA/MF Instruction No. 3 sets out procedures that betting operators must follow to prevent beneficiaries of Novo Desenrola Brasil from registering or using betting systems during the restriction period.

For licensed operators, the reform adds another compliance layer to Brazil’s already demanding regulated betting framework. Companies will need to ensure that user checks, CPF blocking, payment monitoring and responsible gambling procedures are aligned with the new rules. The biggest technical challenge may be identifying whether a transaction that arrives through an approved payment channel was indirectly funded by credit.

For Brazil’s betting market, the measure shows that regulation is moving beyond licensing and taxation into broader financial-risk control. The government is not only trying to legalise and tax the market, but also to reduce the possibility that vulnerable or indebted consumers continue betting with borrowed money. The effectiveness of the reform will depend on coordination between banks, payment providers, betting operators and the Ministry of Finance.