Brazil Enacts Immediate Ban on Online Betting and Casinos
- Brazil’s Provisional Measure 1,394 bans all fixed-odds betting, including online casinos, effective immediately as of September 25.
- The ban affects both domestic and international operators serving Brazilian customers, with sites going offline from October 6.
- Operators holding one of the issued licenses worth $492 million collectively will not receive refunds and plan to pursue legal action.
- A companion bill proposes criminalizing betting payment processing through virtual assets like crypto, with penalties including imprisonment.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the measure citing public interest, affecting both local and foreign betting operators in Brazil. The legislation also targets payment processing via virtual assets, potentially impacting the crypto industry linked to betting activities.
The abrupt ban on online betting before Brazil’s presidential election has led to significant industry backlash due to the lack of compensation for license holders who collectively paid $492 million in fees. (Source)
