Brazil shuts authorised betting platforms as refunds begin

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security said authorised betting platforms stopped operating on 6 October under Provisional Measure No. 1.394/2026, which prohibits betting operation, offering, intermediation and advertising in the country. The ministry said the measure’s immediate timetable now shifts the process from platform closure to the return of customer balances.

From closure to repayment

The voluntary withdrawal period ended at 23:59 on 5 October. By 7 October, companies must send financial institutions each bettor’s remaining balance, identified by CPF, together with the bank account used for deposits.

Banks must return the funds between 9 and 14 October. The ministry said R$1.325 billion remained to be returned to about 26.5 million bettors, citing a bulletin from the Finance Ministry’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting.

The notice also records 86.2 million accounts holding between R$0.01 and R$0.99, with a combined value of R$15.5 million. It says one person may hold accounts on multiple platforms, so the number of accounts exceeds the number of bettors.

The government identified 188 sites that had operated with authorisation through 5 October. One remained operating when the notice was issued and the ministry said it had requested the site’s blocking. The notice does not establish the outcome of that request.

Where a refund encounters an impediment, the amount is to be transferred to Caixa from 14 October, with Caixa responsible for returning it. The notice does not identify a separate appeal process, dispute mechanism or timetable for resolving failed repayments.

The ministry said accounts with high balances will be investigated for possible money laundering and potential links to criminal organisations. That describes an investigative purpose, not an adjudicated finding against a bettor or operator.

Illegal sites and unresolved scope

Alongside the authorised-platform shutdown, enforcement against unauthorised betting sites continues. Ciberlab/Senasp and the SPA sent 13,241 illegal sites for blocking between 25 September and 6 October, according to the ministry.

The ministry also said platforms were asked to remove 3,552 pages, profiles, channels, groups and servers across Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord. The notice says the identified Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord accounts reached about 17.2 million users, members and followers, while warning that some people may have been counted more than once.

The notice presents the closure and refund schedule as following the provisional measure. It does not resolve the measure’s longer-term legislative status or establish a permanent replacement framework. Nor does it show whether every betting service in Brazil stopped operating: its account concerns authorised platforms and separately describes continuing action against illegal operators.

The next implementation event identified is the transfer to Caixa from 14 October for refunds that cannot be completed through the initial process. The notice identifies no later procedural step governing the measure’s duration.