President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional measure on Friday that bans all sports betting and online casinos across Brazil. The order prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting.
Finance Minister Dario Durigan announced the details alongside the president. New deposits into betting accounts are prohibited with immediate effect. Users may withdraw remaining funds until 23:59 on October 5. From October 6, app stores and network providers must block the sites and applications. Existing advertising and sponsorship contracts end after that date.
Lula described the decision as essential. “I made the decision to take a hard, drastic and necessary measure,” he told journalists in São Paulo. He called the industry a cancer and stated, “Either we remove the tumour, or it kills us.”
Durigan said more than 60 billion reais had flowed from families to legal betting companies. “We are facing a public health issue involving online betting. It is a serious problem,” he said. He added that from October 6 there will be no site, no application and no legal sponsorship of bets in the country.
The provisional measure takes effect upon publication and requires congressional approval within 120 days to remain in force. The government also prepared a separate bill to create criminal penalties for related offences.