Brazil Sets 6 October Deadline for Betting Platforms to Go Offline

^{Brazil's National Congress in Brasília, where lawmakers must approve the government's betting ban within 120 days for it to become permanent. (Photo: Cayambe / Wikimedia Commons)}

Brazil's betting operators have a hard deadline of 6 October 2026 to take their sites and apps offline, according to the transition rules set out in the provisional measure that banned fixed-odds sports betting in the country.

Provisional Measure 1,394 of 2026 was published on 25 September 2026 and began moving through the National Congress this week, according to Agência Senado, the Brazilian Senate's own news service. The measure bans the exploitation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting nationwide, covering both licensed operators and unlicensed sites based abroad that target Brazilian bettors.

Bettors Have Until 5 October to Withdraw Funds

Under the transition calendar, platforms are barred from accepting new deposits from the date the measure was published. Sites and apps may keep running only so bettors can withdraw their balances, with a cut-off of 23:59 on 5 October 2026. From 6 October, the platforms must be taken offline entirely, including removal from app stores, or face being blocked.

The formal authorisations granted to licensed operators will not be revoked until 25 October 2026, 30 days after the measure's publication, and the government has said no compensation or refund of licence fees will be paid, since the closures are being carried out in the public interest. No new betting licences, permits or authorisations can be issued while the measure is in force, and pending applications have effectively been shelved.

Refunds Must Reach Bettors Within Days of Shutdown

The measure also sets out how bettors get their money back. Any bet still open, with no result decided within ten days of publication, will be voided and the stake refunded in full. Winnings on bets already settled within that window must still be paid out as normal.

Once the platforms go offline, operators will have two days to tell Brazilian financial institutions how much each bettor is owed, identified by tax ID, and to set aside the funds needed for repayment. The same data must go to the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Finance. Banks and payment institutions then have seven days to complete the transfers.

'The formal extinction of the authorisations occurs for reasons of public interest,' the measure states, according to Agência Senado's summary, ruling out compensation to the operators whose licences are being wound down.

The measure also creates new tools for blocking access to betting sites and financial transactions linked to the banned activity, giving telecoms regulator Anatel a role in ordering internet providers to block domains, alongside the Internet Steering Committee for `.br` addresses. Other lottery products provided for under separate legislation are not affected, a distinction that also applied to the earlier Senate debate over online casinos in Brazil.

As a provisional measure, MP 1,394 took effect immediately on publication but must be approved by Congress within 120 days, by late January 2027, to become permanent law. Lawmakers can approve it as written, amend it or reject it outright, meaning the shutdown now underway could yet be revisited well after the 6 October cut-off has passed.

The full text of Provisional Measure 1,394 is published on the Brazilian government's official portal.