Brazil's Online Betting Ban Runs to March 2027 as Congress Review Stalls

Brazil's ban on online betting stays in force until March 2027. Congress President Davi Alcolumbre granted a further 60-day extension to Provisional Measure No. 1,394, the decree Lula signed on September 25. The extension was signed as Act No. 118/2026 on November 10 and published in the Federal Official Gazette on November 11, according to World Casino Directory's report on the act.

The measure already has legal force. It bars the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of betting platforms, and it revoked provisional authorisations from October 25. What Congress still has to decide is whether to convert it into permanent law. The extension moves the clock; it does not settle the question. Because the year-end recess pauses the countdown, the original November 23 expiry becomes a March 4, 2027 deadline, according to SBC News.

The review is not moving quickly. The joint committee has not been formally convened, and it has no chair or rapporteur. Lawmakers have filed nearly 100 amendments, and the most important split is over scope rather than whether betting survives at all. Several would ban online slots while keeping sports betting. Others would let casino games and gaming aggregators keep operating if they obtain technical certification. Advertising limits are contested in similar ways.

The government says existing controls were not enough to guarantee public safety. Industry representatives argue that the ban could push players toward unlicensed sites and hurt companies that held authorisations. The reporting does not include data on where players have gone since September, so neither claim is tested here. Operators and their staff bear the immediate cost, but the longer-term burden on bettors who move to unlicensed platforms is unmeasured.

A separate track sits in the Supreme Court. Justice Luiz Fux is hearing a constitutional challenge to the suspension, and he has ordered lower-court cases on online betting suspended while the question is considered. A Senate hearing on the economic and social effects has been requested by Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo, but no date is set.

Analysis: Congress must also handle the 2027 budget, Carnival, committee formation and leadership elections for both chambers. If the committee does not start soon, the March deadline will become the real decision point by default. The committee's eventual report, not the extension, will show whether lawmakers keep a total prohibition or accept a narrower, certified framework. I would revise that view if the committee is formed quickly and its rapporteur signals support for a total ban.