Brazil Amendment Would Restore Sports Betting While Keeping Online Casino Ban

Brazilian lawmakers are considering a proposal that would partially reverse the country's new online gambling prohibition by restoring regulated sports betting while keeping online casino games banned.

Amendment 38 to Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026 was submitted by Senator Dr. Hiran and would narrow the scope of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's prohibition.

Under the proposal, fixed-odds betting would remain permitted when linked to real sporting events, while online casino games and other gambling formats would continue to be prohibited.

The amendment has only been submitted and has not been approved. Brazil's current prohibition therefore remains in force.

Amendment Would Separate Sports Betting From Online Casino

The original provisional measure prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting in Brazil, covering both sports betting and online casino games.

Amendment 38 proposes a different model.

Instead of removing the regulated fixed-odds betting framework entirely, it would preserve betting on real sporting events while excluding online casino products from the permitted market.

That would represent a significant change for operators that previously offered both verticals under Brazil's federal regulatory system.

If adopted, sportsbook businesses could potentially return to the regulated market while online casino products would remain unavailable.

The exact commercial and licensing consequences would depend on the final text approved by Congress and any subsequent implementation rules.

Congress Has Received 49 Amendments So Far

The proposal is one of a growing number of changes submitted to MP 1,394.

As of the latest congressional update, 49 amendments had been filed, although several earlier submissions were subsequently withdrawn.

Lawmakers have until October 13 at 23:59 to submit additional amendments, meaning the number can still increase.

Another proposal, Amendment 29, would establish that the cancellation of existing betting authorisations is based on public interest and would not give operators a right to recover all or part of the licensing fee already paid to the government.

That issue is financially significant because companies entering Brazil's regulated market paid substantial upfront authorisation fees before the prohibition disrupted the framework.

Neither the sports betting proposal nor the licence fee amendment has yet become law.

Congress Has Until November 23 to Consider the Measure

MP 1,394 took effect when it was published on September 25, but as a provisional measure it requires congressional approval to remain in force.

Congress has scheduled deliberation on the measure through November 23.

A joint congressional committee must first analyse the measure and the amendments before the text proceeds through the legislative process.

The measure enters an urgency regime from November 9.

That timetable leaves several weeks for lawmakers to decide whether to maintain the complete prohibition, modify it or allow the provisional measure to expire.

Public Consultation Shows Strong Support for Current Measure

The Senate's e-Cidadania platform is also collecting public opinions on MP 1,394.

At the latest check, approximately 485,700 participants had voted in favour of the provisional measure, compared with around 81,100 against it.

The totals continue to change as voting remains open.

Importantly, the e-Cidadania vote concerns the provisional measure as a whole, not Amendment 38 specifically. It is also a public consultation rather than a binding referendum, so the result does not determine how Congress must vote.

Brazil Market Could Return in a Reduced Form

Brazil's previously regulated betting websites and applications went offline on October 6 under the prohibition.

The amendment creates one possible route for part of that market to return.

A sports-only model would preserve a federally regulated betting vertical while permanently separating it from online casino products that had been legal under the framework introduced before the ban.

For operators, the distinction could substantially reshape the economics of the Brazilian market, particularly for companies that relied heavily on casino GGR alongside sportsbook revenue.

The final structure remains uncertain while amendments are still being submitted and Congress has yet to decide the future of MP 1,394.