Lula's Re-Election Sends Brazil's Betting Ban Fight to Congress and the Supreme Court

^{Brazil's National Congress in Brasília, where a joint committee has yet to be installed to review the provisional measure banning fixed-odds betting. (Photo: Agência Senado / Wikimedia Commons)}

Brazil's electoral court has confirmed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's re-election, leaving the government's ban on fixed-odds betting to be tested in the Supreme Federal Court and the National Congress. Lula won the 25 October run-off with 51.79% of valid votes against 48.21% for Flávio Bolsonaro, according to Superior Electoral Court (TSE) figures reported by G1. The ban was imposed through Provisional Measure 1394 in September.

What Provisional Measure 1394 Does

According to the Finance Ministry, the measure of 25 September prohibits the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting lotteries across Brazil. It covers sports betting and online games, in physical and virtual environments, including when offered from abroad to people in Brazil.

The measure also applies to state and district authorisations. Brazil's Congress describes it as ending existing authorisations after 30 days, requiring balances and prizes to be returned to bettors and banning advertising, sponsorship and related payments. Platforms were ordered offline from 6 October, as Casinos.com reported when Brazil set the 6 October deadline.

Supreme Court Is the First Test

Minister Luiz Fux is the rapporteur for the cases challenging the measure at the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Poder360 reported on 19 October that he was expected to rule on its validity once the second round of voting was over, after giving the government 72 hours on 2 October to provide information.

The Attorney General's Office (AGU) replied on 6 October, defending the ban in full and, according to Poder360, describing betting as a "dragon" that needed taming. Casinos.com covered that filing when the AGU asked the Supreme Court to strike down betting laws.

Challenges have come from the betting sector and beyond. Poder360 reported that the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) asked for the measure to be suspended, as did broadcasters' association Abert. Clubs including Flamengo, Botafogo and Cruzeiro asked to join the cases and sought a transition period of up to a year for sponsorship contracts.

Congress Has Yet to Start Work

On the National Congress website, the measure's status reads "awaiting installation of the committee." The deliberation window runs from 25 September to 23 November, and the urgency regime starts on 9 November. A joint committee must review the measure before both houses vote.

iGaming Business reported that the committee has named 12 senators and 13 deputies as full members, but has not yet chosen a president or rapporteur. It also reported that the sector had expected a Bolsonaro win and had been negotiating with his interlocutors about revising the measure.

The same outlet said signals in Congress point to sports betting possibly returning without online casino. That has not been confirmed, and any change would need a vote of both houses.

iGaming Business also estimated that licensed operators, which paid BRL30 million for five-year concessions, lost about BRL1.2 billion in revenue during the shutdown, while the government lost more than BRL400 million in tax revenue. These figures are the outlet's estimates rather than official data.

The government had earlier backed a bill to ban online casino games, which Casinos.com reported at the time.