Brazil betting ban: 415 new illegal betting sites logged in days

President Lula da Silva issued Provisional Measure 1,394 on Friday 25 September, banning online betting in Brazil with immediate effect. Within two days, a monitoring platform logged hundreds of new unlicensed domains, data that critics of the measure say undercuts its stated purpose of protecting bettors.

The measure stops licensed operators from taking new customers and must be ratified or amended by Congress within 120 days to become permanent, GamblingNews reports. SBC News puts the announcement a week before the presidential election, set for 4 October.

The illegal domain count, day by day

Bet Legal, a monitoring platform working with cybersecurity company Iron Security, tracks unauthorised domains by cross-referencing the Official Gazette of the Union, state gazettes and notifications sent to telecom regulator Anatel, according to iGB.

The numbers moved quickly. SBC News reports the count stood at 102 illegal platforms on 21 September, 331 a day before the measure and 575 on 26 September, a rise of 244, or 74%, in 24 hours. iGB, citing the same platform, reported 295 unauthorised domains as of 6pm on Friday, another 294 created on Saturday alone, and 710 by 7:10pm on Sunday, a 141% increase across two days. GamblingNews, which also cites the Bet Legal and Iron Security survey, counted more than 415 new illegal gambling websites since Friday.

These are domain counts, not company counts. As iGB notes, one operator can run dozens of variations of the same domain.

Amilton Noble, executive director of lottery technology provider Hebara, shared the Bet Legal figures: "The illegal gang is lying down and rolling. Almost 700 illegal sites in the last 48 hours. I don't like to say 'I warned you'. But, I warned you. It will get worse."

506 sites blocked, and Telegram groups

The Ministries of Justice and Finance took down 506 illegal gambling websites after the measure was enacted, iGB reports. The same task force found 43 Telegram channels and groups promoting illegal betting, with more than 212,000 members between them. The Ministry of Finance said the work is being carried out with other agencies.

Blocking has a track record that cuts the other way. GamblingNews reports that most black market operators have years of experience with ISP blocks and run mirror domains or backups they hand to players when a site is taken offline. iGB, citing Poder360, notes the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets sent 57,691 addresses to Anatel for restriction between 1 January and 22 September.

ANJL: prohibition pushes bettors to the black market

The National Association of Games and Lotteries told the president's office the measure did little about the risk of illegal gambling, which it said would grow without a regulated market acting as a counterweight, GamblingNews reports.

"Without authorisation, without the same regulatory obligations and operating outside the scope of oversight, the clandestine market continues to find space," the association, known as ANJL, stated, according to iGB. Its president, Plínio Lemos Jorge, said: "Now, they will take advantage of the prohibition of legal betting to attract bettors to the illegal market."

The association estimates at least 30 million bettors are left with the illegal market as their only option.

What happens next

Licensed sites are to be blocked from 6 October. Bettors must request the withdrawal of their funds by the day before, and anything not withdrawn is to be credited to registered accounts between 9 and 14 October, iGB reports.

Betano, which counts Brazil as its largest market, is preparing legal action "to protect its rights in Brazil in consideration of its five-year licence to operate", part-owner Allwyn said. Regulus Partners puts the licensed industry at about $5.7 billion in net revenue terms and estimates a 5% chance the full ban is maintained, against an 85% likelihood of a multi-month blackout. Entain said it expects its full-year guidance at the lower end of its ranges, and Flutter, which bought NSX in 2024 for $350 million and targets around 11% of the market, is set to take a $70 million revenue hit, iGB reports.

Tax revenue may matter to the courts. The same iGB report says the Federal Revenue Service received BRL2.11 trillion in gambling taxes between January and August, which it converts to $411.2 million; those two figures as published do not convert consistently. The tax take was up 12% on the same period in 2025. Regulus argues that banning a directly taxed product threatens federal revenue and gives a strong argument for the provision being considered unconstitutional.

Congress has 120 days from publication to ratify or amend Provisional Measure 1,394. SBC News reports the ban could be reversed if lawmakers do not reject the measure, pointing to the Bolsonaro family's historical support for sports betting and the presidential election set for 4 October.