Brazilian Senator Carlos Fávaro has introduced legislation that would ultimately dismantle the country’s regulated fixed-odds betting market by prohibiting new licences and preventing existing operators from renewing their authorisations.
Bill 4,977/2026 would prohibit the operation, offering, promotion, advertising, sponsorship and intermediation of fixed-odds betting across Brazil, including services provided online or by companies based overseas.
The proposal would revoke key provisions of the legislation that created and regulates Brazil’s licensed fixed-odds betting market.
It would not, however, close existing licensed operators immediately.
Current authorisations could continue until their existing expiry dates, but renewals, extensions and transfers would be prohibited.
No licence could remain valid for more than five years after the legislation entered into force.
New authorisations would also be prohibited from the date of publication, although applications submitted before that point could continue to be considered. The legislation would take effect 90 days after publication.
The proposal is at an early stage of Brazil’s legislative process and has not yet been assigned to Senate committees or put to a vote.
It therefore represents an individual senator’s legislative proposal rather than a policy adopted by the Brazilian government.
Fávaro said he introduced the bill after hearing concerns from families affected by betting during visits to municipalities in Mato Grosso.
He also cited research carried out across seven municipalities in the state in which almost 86% of respondents reportedly identified online betting as a problem affecting their family or social environment.
Fávaro said: “Almost nine out of ten people know that this is destroying families, and yet there are still those who argue that the solution is simply regulation.”
The senator argues that regulation has failed to neutralise risks including compulsive gambling, indebtedness, pressure on household income and mental health problems.
The proposal comes as Brazil continues to consolidate the regulated betting market introduced nationally in January 2025.
Recent industry research commissioned by the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming estimated that illegal operators still account for around 41% of online betting activity, although that represented an improvement from the previous year.
If approved, Fávaro’s bill would reverse the direction of Brazil’s current regulatory framework and begin a phased withdrawal of licensed fixed-odds betting from one of Latin America’s largest gambling markets.
