Gaming & Betting
Provisional Measure 1,394/2026 bans fixed-odds betting in Brazil and sets a short transition for platforms, player funds, advertising and authorizations.
Marinho de Gusmão Team
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On September 25, 2026, Brazil published Provisional Measure (Medida Provisória) No. 1,394/2026, introducing a structural change to the country's fixed-odds betting market.
The framework in force since 2025 — based on operators authorized by the Ministry of Finance, payment of a grant fee, supervision by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA/MF), and ongoing regulatory obligations — is replaced by a nationwide ban on the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting. The ban covers sports betting and online gaming events, whether offered through physical or digital channels, including services provided from abroad to individuals located in Brazil.
The change does not affect new entrants alone. The Provisional Measure terminates existing authorizations, establishes a short period for platforms to be taken offline and regulates the return of player funds.
Authorized operators, investors and other market participants must now address two workstreams in parallel: complying with the new regulatory timetable and preserving the company's legal, contractual and financial position while the measure remains subject to review by Congress and the courts.
What changed under Provisional Measure 1,394/2026?
The principal change is the replacement of Brazil's authorized fixed-odds betting model with a nationwide prohibition.
The measure applies to federal authorizations and also extends to operations authorized by the states and the Federal District. No new authorizations may be granted after September 25, and applications that had not been decided by the publication date are rendered moot.
It also immediately restricts financial flows connected with betting. From the publication date, no new funds may enter player transactional accounts, except for proceeds from the redemption, maturity, sale or liquidation of assets in which player funds were already invested, and only when used to meet wind-down obligations.
The measure further establishes rules for taking platforms offline, settling previously placed bets, returning balances, removing advertising and sponsorships, restricting payment processing and maintaining regulatory duties for the period in which the operator remained authorized.
According to the Executive Branch, the intervention responds to an assessment that the existing framework did not adequately address certain economic, social and health effects associated with betting.
Those public-policy grounds do not eliminate the legal issues created by moving from an authorized, fee-based market to a prohibition regime.
When must authorized betting operators cease operations?
Operational shutdown and formal termination of the authorization are separate events.
The measure took effect on September 25 and immediately prohibited new deposits. Operators were nevertheless given a short transition period before their platforms had to become unavailable.
Article 7 requires operators to disable access to betting websites and applications, including app-store listings, ten days after publication. The timetable released by the Senate identifies October 5 at 11:59 p.m. as the deadline for voluntary withdrawals and October 6 as the date on which platforms must begin to be taken offline.
This interval is not an extension of ordinary commercial operations. It is a controlled wind-down period already subject to the restrictions imposed by the measure.
Open bets whose outcomes have not been determined by the end of this period become void, with the full stake returned and no deductions. Prizes arising from bets settled within the period remain payable.
The authorization itself does not terminate at the same time. Formal termination occurs thirty days after publication, leaving an interval between the operational shutdown and the end of the authorization.
What happens to player balances, open bets and funds?
The measure creates a specific process for returning amounts held for players.
Within two days after platforms become unavailable, operators must ensure sufficient liquidity to pay all amounts due, including available balances, stakes on void bets and prizes already earned.
Within the same period, operators must provide the financial institutions and payment institutions responsible for the transactional accounts with an itemized list of users, including each taxpayer identification number (CPF), the amount due and the originating account. The same data must be sent to the SPA/MF together with evidence that the necessary funds are available.
Amounts due to users remain segregated from the operator's assets and cannot be used for any other purpose. Non-compliance may result in a daily fine of BRL 200,000.
Financial and payment institutions have seven days from receipt of the information to make the transfers. When repayment is not possible, the funds must be transferred to a dedicated account at Caixa Econômica Federal, under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and with each beneficiary individually identified.
Operators must therefore reconcile gaming ledgers, transactional accounts, open bets, prizes, balances and player banking data while ensuring that personal information is handled appropriately.
What happens to existing authorizations?
Federal fixed-odds betting authorizations are formally terminated thirty days after publication — October 25, 2026, under the timetable established by the measure.
This matters because the previous framework treated the authorization as a discretionary administrative act under Law No. 14,790/2023, but allowed it to be granted for five years. The same law made the authorization personal to the holder, non-negotiable and non-transferable.
Termination does not eliminate liabilities relating to the period in which the operator was authorized.
The SPA/MF retains authority to supervise and investigate conduct during the authorization period. Operators must keep their legal representatives and contact information current and remain responsible for regulatory, tax and payment obligations, AML/CFT controls, responsible gaming, sports integrity and information requests from public authorities.
Operators must retain operational data, documents and records for at least five years and continue reporting to Sigap on the authorized period, including bets, deposits, withdrawals, prizes, balances and reimbursements.
The measure also affects pending administrative enforcement proceedings. Proceedings that were not finally decided by the publication date are suspended and may be permanently closed if the operator meets all transition obligations on time.
In practical terms, a platform may go offline before its authorization formally ends, and termination of the authorization does not immediately end the operator's regulatory relationship with the SPA/MF.
What happens to the BRL 30 million grant fee?
The sole paragraph of Article 4 states that the authorizations are terminated on public-interest grounds and that operators are not entitled to a full or partial refund of the grant fee or to compensation from the government.
Under the previous regime, an authorization required payment of a grant fee of up to BRL 30 million for the use of up to three brands.
That rule is clear as a matter of the measure currently in force, but it does not necessarily resolve every constitutional or financial consequence of the termination.
The dispute turns on the fact that the authorizations were granted for consideration, for a defined term and alongside substantial investment and compliance obligations. Industry associations have argued that these characteristics distinguish the authorizations from permits that are both gratuitous and inherently revocable.
That issue requires a separate analysis and is addressed in the related article linked below.
What are the principal legal issues raised by the betting measure?
Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026 raises several legal questions whose outcome before Congress and the courts cannot yet be predicted.
One issue concerns the constitutional requirements of relevance and urgency for provisional measures. The government relies on economic, social and health impacts. Industry organizations argue that the underlying concerns were already known and were being addressed through targeted regulation.
Sigap data presented by industry organizations has also entered the debate. According to those figures, monthly player funding declined from BRL 22.59 billion in October 2025 to BRL 13.06 billion in June 2026. The industry uses this trend to challenge the claim of an abrupt change immediately before the measure, although the figures do not determine the constitutional issue by themselves.
Other questions include legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations, particularly in light of authorizations already granted, fees already paid and investments made under the previous framework; the proportionality of such a short transition period; and the effects of the new rules on established legal positions.
The legislative instrument itself also raises questions. Article 62 of the Federal Constitution prohibits provisional measures on certain matters, including criminal law and measures designed to detain or seize property or other financial assets. The application of those restrictions to specific provisions of the measure remains subject to constitutional interpretation.
Finally, the termination of state and Federal District concessions, permissions and authorizations adds a federalism dimension to the debate.
These issues warrant focused analysis of the measure's constitutionality and any litigation brought by the industry, without requiring this article to resolve them in full.
What changes for advertising, sponsorships and existing contracts?
The measure prohibits communications, advertising, marketing and sponsorship relating to fixed-odds betting. Existing advertising materials and sponsorship signage must be removed within ten days of publication.
In practice, this affects contracts with clubs, leagues, federations, influencers, affiliates, media outlets, agencies, technology providers and other participants in the betting ecosystem.
The measure does not create a detailed contractual regime for that wind-down. Employment, services, advertising, technology, payments and sponsorship arrangements remain governed by their contracts and applicable law. Industry representatives have already identified this lack of specific treatment as a material issue.
The legislative change does not automatically terminate every contract without financial consequences.
Each agreement should be reviewed for change-in-law provisions, impossibility of performance, force majeure, early termination, penalties, notice periods, refunds and brand-use rights.
What should authorized operators do now?
The wind-down requires coordination across legal, compliance, finance, technology, customer support, marketing and management. Priority actions include:
blocking new funding and carefully reviewing the transactions permitted during the transition;
mapping open bets, prizes, balances and all amounts to be returned;
fully reconciling player accounts and securing liquidity for payment;
coordinating with banks and payment institutions on data transmission and reimbursement;
preparing websites and applications to become unavailable within the statutory period;
removing advertising and sponsorship materials and reviewing affected contracts;
identifying administrative enforcement proceedings that may fall within Article 13;
maintaining residual obligations before the SPA/MF and preparing final Sigap reporting; and
preserving authorizations, proof of grant-fee payment, contracts, certifications, investments, financial statements, amortization records and wind-down costs that may be relevant to future claims.
Regulatory compliance and preservation of rights are not inconsistent strategies. The obligations imposed by the measure must be observed while it remains in force, but operators may simultaneously preserve evidence and assess the legal and financial consequences of early termination.
Timeline under Provisional Measure 1,394/2026
September 25, 2026 — the measure takes effect; new deposits and new authorizations are prohibited; pending applications become moot.
By October 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. — indicated window for voluntary withdrawals and deadline for removing advertising and sponsorship materials.
October 6, 2026 — betting websites and applications must become unavailable.
October 7–8, 2026 — operators must secure liquidity and transmit the information required for reimbursement.
October 9–14, 2026 — period indicated for banks and payment institutions to return funds.
From October 14, 2026 — amounts that cannot be returned are transferred to the dedicated Caixa account.
October 25, 2026 — formal termination of authorizations.
October 1, 2026 — current deadline for amendments in Congress.
November 9, 2026 — start of the constitutional urgency period.
November 23, 2026 — end of the initial 60-day deliberation period.
The operational timetable derives from the measure and Senate guidance; the legislative timetable appears in the official congressional record.
What happens next in Congress?
The measure has been in force since publication but still requires congressional review.
As of September 28, 2026, appointment of the Joint Committee members was pending. The amendment period runs through October 1, the urgency period begins on November 9 and the initial 60-day deliberation period ends on November 23.
Congress may approve the measure as issued, approve it with amendments or reject it. If the vote is not completed within the initial 60-day period, the measure may be extended once for another 60 days; the count is suspended during congressional recess.
If the measure is rejected or lapses, the Constitution provides that it loses effect from the date of issuance and directs Congress to regulate the legal relationships created during its effectiveness by legislative decree. If no decree is adopted within the constitutional period, relationships formed and acts performed while the measure was in force continue to be governed by it.
The timetable is therefore particularly sensitive: platforms and authorizations may be terminated before the legislative framework is definitively settled.
The consequences of rejection, amendment or lapse for authorizations already terminated and operations already dismantled may require separate analysis as the legislative process develops.
Conclusion
Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026 imposes an exceptionally short regulatory transition on authorized operators.
The immediate priority is to execute the wind-down correctly, return player funds, coordinate the removal of platforms and advertising, and continue meeting the regulatory duties that survive operational shutdown.
At the same time, the early termination of fixed-term authorizations granted in exchange for a fee creates legal and financial questions that remain unresolved.
Operators must therefore advance on two fronts: rigorous execution of the wind-down required by the measure and preservation of the company's legal, contractual and financial position in light of possible legislative and judicial developments.
This material is for informational purposes only and does not replace legal advice on a specific matter.
Official sources
Frequently Asked Questions
When must authorized betting operators take their websites and applications offline?
The measure was published on September 25, 2026 and requires websites and applications to become unavailable ten days later. The official timetable identifies October 6, 2026 as the start of the shutdown, following the voluntary withdrawal window ending on October 5 at 11:59 p.m.
What happens to player balances, open bets and prizes?
Bets that remain unsettled at the end of the transition become void and the full stake must be returned. Earned prizes remain payable, and operators must secure liquidity and provide financial institutions and the SPA/MF with the information required to pay users.
Does the measure provide for reimbursement of the BRL 30 million grant fee?
No. The current text states that termination does not entitle operators to a full or partial refund of the fee or to government compensation. The validity and financial consequences of that rule may nevertheless be challenged.
Do SPA/MF obligations end when the platform goes offline?
No. Supervision of the authorized period continues, together with reporting, record-retention, tax, regulatory and Sigap obligations.
Is the betting ban already final?
The measure has legal effect from publication but still requires congressional review. Congress may approve, amend or reject it, or it may lapse, each outcome carrying distinct consequences for relationships formed while it was in force.
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