Brazil Betting Ban: Operators Lose US$490 Million in Licence Fees
BRAZIL · ONLINE BETTING
Key Facts
- —The decision Brazil’s government will not refund the R$2.55 billion (about US$490 million) betting firms paid for licences, Gazeta do Povo reported on 29 September 2026.
- —Per licence Each operator paid R$30 million (about US$5.8 million), the legal maximum under the 2023 betting law, for five years of operation.
- —The legal basis Provisional Measure 1,394 of 25 September says the licences end in the public interest, with no refund and no compensation.
- —The government’s case The presidency cites a 140% rise in public-health treatment for gambling disorder between January 2018 and December 2025.
- —Still open Industry groups have asked the Supreme Court to suspend the measure or grant at least six months’ transition.
The Brazil betting ban has a second price tag. Operators lose R$2.55 billion (about US$490 million) in licence fees, and lawyers expect damages claims.
Brazil’s government will not return R$2.55 billion (about US$490 million) in betting licence fees, Gazeta do Povo reported on 29 September. The online betting ban of 25 September ended those five-year licences with years still to run.
What the operators paid
Each licensed company paid R$30 million (about US$5.8 million), Gazeta do Povo reported. The R$2.55 billion (US$490 million) total covers 85 companies.
The 2023 betting law, Law 14,790, capped the fee at R$30 million (about US$5.77 million) per authorisation. One authorisation allowed a company to run up to three brands online.
The licensed market opened in January 2025, and the permits ran for five years. Experts consulted by Gazeta do Povo said about three years were left when the ban arrived.
Congress legalised fixed-odds betting in 2018 but set no rules until the law of 29 December 2023. The fees were the entry ticket to that new, regulated market.
What the ban’s text says
The ban came by provisional measure, a presidential decree with immediate force of law that Congress must confirm within 120 days. It is numbered 1,394 and dated 25 September.
Article 4 says the licences end “for reasons of public interest”. It adds that operators have no right to a full or partial refund of the fee, nor to compensation from the state.
The measure also ends every licence 30 days after its publication, with a transition period for bettors. Congress can amend or reject that text when it votes.
The government’s reasoning
The presidency’s communications office, Secom, sent Gazeta do Povo a written statement defending the decision. It says betting caused a social and health crisis in Brazil.
The statement lists household over-indebtedness and anxiety disorders. It also cites a 140% rise in gambling-disorder treatments in the SUS, the public health system, between 2018 and 2025.
In the government’s view, the social cost of gambling addiction far exceeds the taxes and fees the state collected. The measure calls betting an activity of “high social risk”.
Why lawyers see legal risk
Critics say keeping the full fee breaks the principle of legitimate expectations, which protects firms that follow the state’s own rules. The argument centres on the unused years.
Luiz Felipe Maia, a regulatory lawyer, spoke of the signal abroad. He said foreign investors would conclude that “not even a paid federal authorisation with a fixed term offers legal certainty” in Brazil.
Maia expects claims for investments, contracts, lost profits and closure costs. Leonardo David Quintiliano, a law professor at ESEG, said ending the activity almost overnight violates reasonableness.
Carlos Henrique da Silva Junior, an analyst at Freex Corretora, warned of a wider effect. Markets may reprice risk in other licensed sectors, from crypto assets to telecoms and infrastructure concessions.
The fee fight reaches the Supreme Court
Industry groups took the ban to the Supreme Court (STF), Brazil’s highest court, on 28 September. Our earlier report on the betting lawsuit and the Supreme Court challenge covers those petitions.
What is new is the focus on the fee. Two groups, the gaming association ANJL and the legal-certainty body Anseja, call it a “true seizure of financial assets”.
Their cases, numbered 8027 and 8024, ask the court to suspend the measure or grant a transition of at least six months.
Experts told Gazeta do Povo that refusing any refund could leave the Treasury with a liability running into billions. They expect a wave of damages suits over investments already made.
What it means for investors and bettors
The fiscal trade-off cuts both ways. Betting taxes brought in R$9.9 billion (about US$1.9 billion) up to August 2026, Gazeta do Povo reported.
That money was earmarked partly for sport, public security, tourism and social security. The government argues the health costs of addiction outweigh it.
Analysts quoted by Gazeta do Povo expect some gamblers to move to illegal offshore sites. There, the state cannot tax or supervise, and bettors lose deposit limits and identity checks.
For bettors, nothing in the fee dispute changes the withdrawal deadline of 23:59 on 5 October. The Supreme Court has not said when it will rule, and Congress has not yet voted on the measure.
Dollar figures use the rate of 5.20 reais per US dollar at the close on 29 September. With Congress given 120 days to vote, the fight over the fees will run well past Sunday’s election.
More: Brazil news, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Brazil refund betting licence fees?
No. The government says it will keep the R$2.55 billion (about US$490 million) operators paid. The provisional measure rules out any refund or compensation.
How much did a Brazilian betting licence cost?
Each operator paid R$30 million (about US$5.8 million), the maximum set by the 2023 betting law. That bought a five-year authorisation covering up to three brands.
Can operators still win the money back?
They are trying. Industry groups have asked the Supreme Court to suspend the ban. Lawyers expect damages claims against the state, but no court has ruled yet.
Sources: Gazeta do Povo (report) · Gazeta do Povo (explainer) · Presidência da República (Provisional Measure 1,394/2026) · Presidência da República (Law 14,790/2023)
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