Brazilian Government Backs Bill to Ban Online Casino Games

Brazil's National Congress in Brasília, where lawmakers will weigh a bill to ban online casino games. (Photo: Mozzihh / Wikimedia Commons)

Brazil's government is throwing its weight behind a bill that would ban online casino games, setting up a fresh clash over the country's young regulated online gambling market as Congress returns from its mid-year recess. The measure, Bill PL 2,258/2026, was introduced by Paulo Pimenta, the ruling Workers' Party (PT) deputy who leads the government in the Chamber of Deputies.

The proposal is closely aligned with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has said publicly that he favours shutting down online betting platforms he blames for driving household debt. It targets a specific slice of the market rather than the whole of it, banning games of chance whose outcome is generated by an electronic system or algorithm and operated online, including foreign platforms accessible to players in Brazil.

That definition captures online casino games, digital slots and so-called crash games, but leaves fixed-odds sports betting untouched. The bill does this by repealing a single clause, Article 3, item II, of Law 14,790 of December 2023, the framework known as the Bets Law that opened the door to algorithmic online casinos, while keeping the rest of the law in force for betting on real sporting events.

Fortune Tiger in the Crosshairs

The government has singled out the digital slot popularly known as Jogo do Tigrinho, or Fortune Tiger, holding it up as the kind of product it wants gone. Ministry officials argue that such games differ from sports betting because their results are produced internally by random number generators the operator controls, with no external event for the player to reference.

The timing matters. Brazil's National Congress returns from its recess in early August, and the PT government is expected to intensify its push to move the bill once lawmakers reconvene. It is one of several legislative tracks aimed at the sector, ranging from tighter advertising rules to proposals for a full repeal of the 2023 framework.

What's at Stake for Brazil's Betting Market

The stakes are high for a market that only became regulated at the start of 2025 and quickly drew heavy overseas interest. international suppliers and operators moved fast into Brazil once licensing began, and a ban on online casino games would carve out a large part of what many of them came for.

For now, PL 2,258/2026 remains under consideration in the Chamber of Deputies and is awaiting assignment before it can progress. To become law, it would need to clear both houses of Congress and then receive presidential assent, a path complicated by the many lawmakers with ties to the betting industry.

The political calendar adds urgency. Lula, who is seeking re-election, wants a result before voters go to the polls in October, framing the crackdown as a stance against a sector he says has harmed millions of families.

Whether the bill gains momentum or stalls will become clearer once Congress is back and its leaders decide how far, and how fast, it should travel. The full text is set out in the bill as filed with the Chamber of Deputies.