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Brazil operators to start winding down local presence

By jili tutorial · October 7, 2026

Brazil operators to start winding down local presence

Brazil’s licensed gambling industry is being switched off. A provision introduced by President Lula da Silva has banned all legal gambling, and previously licensed operators are now required to remove their websites and mobile apps from operation. The shutdown begins on 6 October and comes with a separate process for returning money to bettors.

The ban also reverses the regulated market that Brazil had built after Lula himself signed the original gambling legislation into law a little over two years earlier. The licensed period has now been replaced by forced closures and government redirects away from betting companies.

The timeline at a glance

DateRequirement
26 SeptemberThe ban on licensed gambling entered into force.
5 OctoberFinal day for bettors to withdraw account balances themselves.
6 OctoberOperators must take all websites and apps offline.
7–8 OctoberOperators must send banks and payment providers detailed net-balance information.
9–14 OctoberBanks and payment providers issue refunds to bettors who did not withdraw.
25 OctoberRunoff presidential election is scheduled.

What operators must do

Take websites and apps down

As of 6 October, any company that was previously licensed must stop offering gambling services. Public-facing sites and applications should no longer allow deposits, bets, or withdrawals. According to reports, traffic to closed domains is being redirected to brasilsembets.br, a government placeholder page used to show that a gambling website is not authorised.

Send balance data to banks

On 7 and 8 October, operators have to give banks and payment providers a full record of the net amounts still held in every bettor’s account. This includes identifying details and the exact remaining balances, so that customer funds can be returned to the correct owners.

What bettors should expect

Bettors who withdrew their money before 5 October have already completed the process. Anyone who missed that date can no longer initiate a withdrawal. Instead, they must wait for banks and payment providers to process refunds between 9 and 14 October.

Example: A player with R$250 in their account on 5 October could have taken the money out directly. If they did not, the operator reports the R$250 balance to the bank, and the bank returns that amount during the refund window.

Why operators and trade bodies are objecting

Operators are not simply upset about losing revenue. The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR) have filed a direct appeal with Supreme Court Minister Luiz Fux.

Their main point is practical: even after the gambling ban, companies still have obligations. Refunds must be processed, internal systems must keep working, and customer support must stay available during the transition. If every visitor to a bookmaker’s site is immediately redirected to a landing page, players cannot access their account history, request help, or complete verification steps. The trade bodies say that could directly obstruct the refund process and other legal duties.

The scale is also significant: the appeal notes that the affected websites account for around 100 million visits per day.

Political context: timing and the election

The ban on licensed gambling came into force on 26 September. Critics argue that the timing was meant to influence Brazil’s presidential election, with Lula facing main rival Flavio Bolsonaro. In theory, the measure could appeal to voters concerned about gambling-related harm.

So far, however, the first-round result gives little evidence that the move shifted the race. Lula received 45.16%, while Bolsonaro received 47.03%. The two will face each other again in the second round on 25 October.

What happens next

The immediate focus is the refund window between 9 and 14 October. In parallel, the Supreme Court will need to decide whether the forced redirects interfere with operators’ transition responsibilities. For bettors, the safest approach is to wait for the scheduled refund rather than attempt to access closed sites. Any website still running after the shutdown should be treated as operating outside the law.