🇧🇷 Brazil · Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (Ministry of Finance) (SPA)

Brazil Online Gambling Licence — 2026

Status, 28 September 2026: Provisional Measure 1,394 of 25 September 2026 prohibits operating, offering and advertising fixed-odds betting and online casino games in Brazil, including from abroad. Sites must be offline ten days after publication, by 6 October 2026, and every authorisation described on this page ends on 25 October 2026, with no refund of the BRL 30 million fee. This profile records the regime as it stood before the ban; its obligations still apply to the licensed period. What MP 1,394 requires, date by date →

Brazil licensed online betting from 1 January 2025 and banned it on 25 September 2026. Provisional Measure 1,394 took sites offline within ten days and ends every federal authorisation on 25 October 2026, with no refund of the BRL 30 million fee.

Tier 3 — Emerging / recently liberalised

Facts on this page verified 28 September 2026 against primary sources.

Brazil regulated its online gambling market through Law 14.790/2023 effective 1 January 2025 — the largest newly-regulated iGaming market in the world by population (215 million). The Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA), within the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, regulates the market with active enforcement against unlicensed operators including ISP-blocking and payment-processor cooperation.

The Brazilian licence cost is among the highest globally — BRL 30 million (~USD 5.5M) authorisation fee for a five-year licence. The framework targets established global operators rather than smaller market entrants. The SPA portal listed 87 authorised operators on 1 July 2026, with 14 more applications pending, mixing global groups with Brazilian-domestic brands.

The market was dominated by sports betting given Brazilian football culture, with online casino games regulated alongside under the same framework. Combined tax burden (12% gambling tax + 34% corporate tax + supervisory fees) made Brazilian operations costly. The regime ended on 25 September 2026, when Provisional Measure 1,394 prohibited fixed-odds betting and online casino games and ended every authorisation thirty days later. The sections below describe it as it operated from January 2025, because its tax, AML and record-keeping obligations still apply to that period.

Quick facts

Regulator	Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (Ministry of Finance) ↗
Tier	Tier 3 — Emerging / recently liberalised
Licence types	Fixed-odds betting (sports + online games), Online casino games (regulated from 2025)
Application cost	BRL 30,000,000 (~USD 5.5M) authorisation fee — five-year licence, covers up to 3 brands
Annual cost	Monthly inspection fee (Taxa de Fiscalização) banded by GGR — reported ~BRL 54,000 to ~BRL 1,944,000 per month
Gaming tax	12% of GGR (Law 14.790); an 18% rise died with Provisional Measure 1,303 in October 2025 and a bill for 24% (PL 5,473/2025) is before the Senate
Corporate tax	34% (15% IRPJ + 9% CSLL + surtax)
Substance	Brazilian operating company required (SA or Ltda); local senior management; substantial Brazilian operational presence
Timeline	Not applicable. No new authorisations since 25 September 2026 (Provisional Measure 1,394 art. 6); the regime ran from 1 January 2025

Pros

The wind-down is set out article by article, with dates, in Provisional Measure 1,394
Pending sanction cases are archived if the transition obligations are met on time (art. 13)

Cons

Fixed-odds betting and online casino prohibited from 25 September 2026, including from abroad
BRL 30 million authorisation fee not refunded, and no compensation
Payment, advertising and platform bans, with administrative forfeiture of blocked funds
Obligations for the licensed period survive, with records kept for at least five years

Best for

No new entrant: no authorisation can be granted since 25 September 2026
Former licensees working through the wind-down and the obligations that survive it

Law 14.790/2023 framework and SPA implementation

Law 14.790/2023 (signed December 2023) established the legal framework for regulated online gambling in Brazil — sports betting (apostas de quota fixa) and online casino games. The Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA), housed within the Ministry of Finance, was established to administer the framework. Implementation Ordinances published throughout 2024 set the substantive rules: licensing process, capital requirements, technical standards, AML obligations, responsible-gambling rules. The framework took effect 1 January 2025 with first licences granted in the January-March 2025 window.

USD 5.5M authorisation fee and substance requirements

The BRL 30M (~USD 5.5M) authorisation fee for a five-year licence is among the highest in any iGaming jurisdiction globally. It serves as a de-facto capital floor — only operators with substantial financial resources can enter. Beyond the headline fee, substantive requirements include: Brazilian operating company (SA or Ltda), minimum BRL 30M in share capital, Brazilian-resident senior management, local AML and compliance team, substantial operational presence with documented Brazilian payroll. The substance bar prevents shell-company arrangements common in offshore jurisdictions.

12% gaming tax, the failed 18%, the 24% bill

The gambling tax is 12% of GGR under Law 14.790, alongside the monthly inspection fee. The government tried to lift it to 18% by Provisional Measure 1,303/2025; the Chamber withdrew the measure on 8 October 2025 after a fight over its retroactive element, and it lapsed. The replacement, PL 5,473/2025, would have doubled the federal share to 24% and was still before the Senate when Provisional Measure 1,394 banned fixed-odds betting on 25 September 2026. Corporate tax adds 34% on profits (15% IRPJ, 9% CSLL, 10% surtax above BRL 240,000 a year). Players pay 15% income tax on annual net prizes above the first bracket of the progressive IRPF table (Law 14.790 art. 31, detailed in IN RFB 2.299/2025) — not the 30% that applies to lottery prizes.

Enforcement and offshore-operator blocking

SPA enforcement against unlicensed operators is aggressive. The 2025 enforcement programme includes: ISP-blocking orders for unlicensed gambling websites (over 5,000 blocked by mid-2025), cooperation with Brazilian payment processors to refuse unlicensed-operator transactions, criminal prosecution of unlicensed-operator marketing, and Brazilian-bank account closure for offshore-operator-related accounts. From 25 September 2026 the same tools apply to all fixed-odds betting, licensed or not: blocking through Anatel and CGI.br, a payment ban that reaches Pix, and administrative forfeiture of blocked funds without a prior court case (Provisional Measure 1,394 arts 14, 23 and 28).

Operational realities

Capital requirements

BRL 30M (~USD 5.5M) minimum share capital — substantively the same as the authorisation fee. Audited Brazilian financial statements required annually.

Player protection

Mandatory self-exclusion mechanisms, deposit limits, reality-check notifications, age-verification at Brazilian-strict standard, responsible-gambling messaging in Portuguese, mandatory player-fund segregation from operator capital.

Banking & payment processing

Major Brazilian banks (Itaú, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Santander Brasil) bank SPA-licensed operators with substantive due-diligence. Operators must use PIX (Brazilian instant payment system) for player deposits and withdrawals — mandatory.

B2B vs B2C licensing

B2B platform and supplier operations not directly regulated under SPA framework but must serve only SPA-licensed B2C operators. B2B providers face indirect regulatory pressure to verify operator licensing.

Recent developments (2025-2026)

On 25 September 2026 Provisional Measure 1,394 prohibited fixed-odds betting and online casino games in Brazil, including from abroad, barred new authorisations and ended the existing ones thirty days after publication, with no refund of the fee. Before that, by 1 July 2026 the SPA portal listed 87 authorised operators with 14 applications pending. The attempt to lift the GGR tax from 12% to 18% (Provisional Measure 1,303/2025) was withdrawn on 8 October 2025 and lapsed; the government has since backed PL 5,473/2025, which would take the rate to 24%, still before the Senate. On 27 July 2026 the SPA/MF opened a 45-day public consultation, closing 9 September 2026, on a new ordinance replacing the authorisation rules of Ordinance 827/2024. The SPA regulatory agenda runs to a sanctioning-regime review in Q4 2026.

How it compares

Versus Argentina: Latin America's two largest markets are now both shut to new applicants, Brazil by statute since 25 September 2026 and Argentina's two main jurisdictions by policy. Versus Colombia and Peru: the two national regimes in the region still granting authorisations, and the realistic places to redeploy a Brazil operation.

Frequently asked questions

Is online betting legal in Brazil now?

No. Provisional Measure 1,394 of 25 September 2026 prohibits operating, offering, intermediating and advertising fixed-odds betting and online casino games in Brazil, including by operators based abroad. Sites must be offline ten days after publication, by 6 October 2026, and every authorisation ends on 25 October 2026.

How much did a Brazilian gambling licence cost?

BRL 30,000,000 (~USD 5.5M) authorisation fee for a five-year licence covering up to 3 brands, which Provisional Measure 1,394 does not refund when it ends the authorisations on 25 October 2026. There was also a minimum BRL 30M share-capital requirement. The recurring cost is a monthly inspection fee (Taxa de Fiscalização) banded by GGR — reported from ~BRL 54,000 to ~BRL 1,944,000 per month.

When did Brazilian online gambling regulation start and end?

Law 14.790/2023 was signed in December 2023 and the regulated market opened on 1 January 2025. By 1 July 2026 the SPA listed 87 authorised operators. Provisional Measure 1,394 banned fixed-odds betting on 25 September 2026 and ends the authorisations on 25 October 2026.

What was the Brazilian gambling tax rate?

12% of GGR plus the monthly inspection fee and 34% corporate tax on profits. Players pay 15% income tax on annual net prizes above the first IRPF bracket. A rise to 18% failed in October 2025. The tax remains owed for the licensed period after the ban.

What substance requirements apply for Brazilian gambling licence?

Brazilian operating company (SA or Ltda) required. Minimum BRL 30M share capital. Brazilian-resident senior management with documented payroll. Local AML and compliance team. Substantive operational presence.

What happens to player balances after the ban?

Within two days of switch-off each operator sends its banks and the SPA a list by CPF of what every player is owed. The banks refund to the player's own account within seven days; balances that cannot be returned go to a Caixa Econômica Federal account.

Named experts covering Brazil

Real, publicly-verifiable practitioners whose work informs our coverage of this jurisdiction.

Udo Seckelmann Head of Gambling & Crypto · Bichara e Motta Advogados iGaming licensing · Sports betting · Crypto Luiz Felipe Maia Founding Partner, Head of Technology & Gaming · Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados Fixed-odds betting licensing · Gaming regulation · M&A

Compare and define

What a licence costs in Brazil, next to eleven other jurisdictions — application fee, annual renewal, gaming tax and the all-in first-year figure.
How Brazil compares with 34 other jurisdictions — cost, tax, timeline and reputational tier, grouped by tier.
Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas — Brazil's gambling regulator under Law 14.790/2023, from 1 January 2025 until the betting ban of 25 September 2026.