Brazil's Fixed-Odds Ban Still Has No Committee, With 94 Amendments Waiting

Brazil's provisional measure banning fixed-odds betting is still waiting for a congressional committee, and the government's 20 December target depends on a body that has members but no president or rapporteur. According to Congress's website, MP 1.394/2026 remains "awaiting the establishment of the committee," so the 94 outstanding amendments cannot be considered. Lawmakers filed 99, and five were withdrawn.

The amendments show what is still negotiable. Senator Dr. Hiran (PP-RR) would limit betting to actual sporting events and exclude "tigrinho" and other games of chance. Representative Julio Arcoverde (PP-PI) would confine the prohibition to unauthorised operators and deny concession fee refunds or compensation. For licensed operators, the second proposal is the one to watch, because it decides who absorbs the cost of a ban that would otherwise fall on them.

The calendar is tight but not simple. The measure enters an expedited procedure on 9 November, and its initial 60-day period ends on 23 November before an automatic extension. BNLData calculates that, with the clock suspended during the 23 December to 1 February recess, the measure expires on 4 March 2027 unless approved. Institutional Relations Minister José Guimarães (PT) said on 27 October that the government intends to pass the betting measure alongside two constitutional amendments before 20 December, adding, "We will not give up on this."

Courts are also part of the picture. Supreme Federal Court Justice Luiz Fux, who upheld the measure's validity, has scheduled a 3 November hearing with government representatives, gambling companies and football clubs. A hearing is not a ruling, and the outcome is open.

The money at stake is concrete. The ban would eliminate federal revenue from betting operators and the allocations made under Law 14.790/2023 for sports, tourism and the National Public Security Fund. That loss arrives as Congress takes up the 2027 budget, submitted on 31 August, in which mandatory spending already accounts for 91.7% of federal expenditure, leaving 8.3% for investment and public services.

Angle: Can the government produce a committee, a rapporteur and a vote before the measure's clock forces a decision, and if the ban passes in narrowed form, who bears the lost revenue?