Regulatory Radar | Fixed-Odds Betting – Ed. 12

Week of August 11 to 14, 2026

This was a week of heavy enforcement. The government suspended the operations of one of the market’s largest brands, opened to the public the documents that authorized betting operators to run, and toughened its rhetoric in an election year. In Congress, a bill seeking to end the sector reached the Senate. Below are the points that deserve your attention.

Government suspends the operations of one of the market’s largest brands

On a single Thursday, one of the country’s largest operators was hit twice. In the morning, the Federal Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the tax authority launched an operation over suspected money laundering, with search warrants across five states and asset freezes in the region of R$ 1 billion. In the afternoon, the betting regulator (SPA/MF) itself signed two measures that immediately suspended the company’s three brands. One of these measures is novel in form: it penalized the operator for a failure in responsible-gaming rules, on the grounds that it lacked the analytical tool meant to monitor bettors at risk of developing gambling problems. The other addressed a failure to report data to the supervisory system.

The measures are precautionary, within proceedings that are still to run their course. The company’s authorization remains formally valid. But for as long as they last, operations are halted, bets in progress must be canceled, and amounts wagered refunded. There is also a daily fine of R$ 200,000 for non-compliance.

What this means: This is the year’s sharpest message to the regulated market, and it targets compliance, not just finances. For the first time, an operator was suspended over responsible gaming. It is worth checking, in your own operation, whether the tool for monitoring at-risk bettors actually exists and is documented, and whether the data sent to the government’s system is in fact being processed, not merely transmitted. A submission that is not confirmed in the system is, to the regulator, as if it had never happened.

Ministry of Finance opens to the public the documents that authorized betting operators

The Ministry of Finance made public more than 2,000 pages of documents used to authorize companies to operate: opinions on integrity, source of funds, payment of the licensing grant, and the final accreditation reports of the licensed operators. Disclosure is gradual and subject to adjustments to comply with the data protection law.

What this means: Transparency cuts both ways. It helps separate those who are compliant from those who are not, but it also exposes to public scrutiny the information each operator submitted during licensing. It is worth checking which of your company’s documents were in this batch and whether there is anything sensitive to monitor.

Federal audit court orders antitrust authority to end partnership with an industry association

The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) ordered CADE, the antitrust authority, to terminate within 30 days a contract held with a betting-sector association. In the court’s view, the partnership poses a risk to the agency’s image and impartiality.

What this means: It is a sign that closeness between public bodies and industry entities has come to be viewed with suspicion. For operators and associations, the moment calls for heightened caution in how they engage institutionally with the public sector.

A bill to end fixed-odds betting reaches the Senate

A senator introduced a bill that would ban fixed-odds betting nationwide. The text prohibits operation, offering, advertising, sponsorship and intermediation, provides for the gradual phase-out of authorizations within up to five years, with no renewal and no compensation for lost profits, and repeals parts of the Betting Law. It is one more prohibitionist proposal, adding to others already in progress in both houses.

What this means: On its own, the bill is at the very start of its passage and changes nothing right now. The point to watch is the accumulation: there are already several proposals for outright bans or heavy restrictions in circulation, and the week’s political climate, with the suspension of a major market brand and the government’s criticism, tends to give such initiatives momentum. We are following the bill’s assignment and the choice of rapporteur.

Advertising in cities and states: Belo Horizonte pulls back, but the pressure continues

The decisive vote on the bill that would restrict betting advertising in Belo Horizonte, scheduled for this week, was pulled from the agenda at a councilor’s request and postponed. Meanwhile, other fronts remain active: in Rio Grande do Sul, a law restricting betting advertising is the subject of a challenge before the Supreme Court and is due to take full effect at the end of August; and a new technique is gaining ground — cutting off public funding, sponsorship and media buying for those who advertise betting, rather than banning the advertisement directly.

What this means: The underlying dispute is always the same: who may legislate on betting advertising, the federal government or states and municipalities? Because the matter is already covered by federal law, these local rules carry a real risk of being struck down for encroaching on federal powers, and several are already before the Supreme Court. The strategy of targeting the money rather than the advertisement is harder to challenge on those grounds and may spread. It is worth mapping your operation’s exposure to each local rule while the matter remains unsettled.

Supreme Court expected to rule on the Betting Law challenges in September

Expectations have grown that the Supreme Court will bring to its plenary, as early as September, the set of actions challenging the Betting Law. The signal came after a justice asked to join this debate to the trial on the old criminal ban on games of chance, arguing that the two matters cannot be separated. There are around eight actions that, taken together, could reopen who regulates the sector, what may be advertised, and who has the right to exploit the market.

What this means: It is the most important ruling of the year for the sector. Nothing is decided yet, but the September window calls for preparation. It is worth reviewing, from now, your business’s exposure to the points at stake, particularly advertising and operating rules.

Looking ahead

• The SPA/MF public consultation on authorization rules remains open until September 9 — a window to contribute.
• The government signaled a new ordinance with platform-design rules (interval between bets, ending auto-play and stimulating sound effects); publication has not yet been confirmed and should be monitored.
• In the Senate, amendment deadlines run until August 18 on two bills that amend the Betting Law (bettor protection and deposit limits).
• Supreme Court: the actions on the Betting Law may enter the September docket.

Our team is available to discuss the impact of any of these topics on your business.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The analyses reflect the team’s understanding as of the date of publication and may be revised as regulations or case law evolve. For specific guidance on concrete situations, please consult a lawyer on the team. © Souto, Correa Advogados — Betting Regulation Practice.