The Brazilian government will soon vote on the approval of a bill that will potentially prohibit online casino gaming in the country.
Bill PL 2,258/2026 was introduced in May by deputy Paulo Pimenta – of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), the country’s ruling party – and seeks to to overhaul the Bets Law, which has governed online gambling in Brazil since 1 January 2025.
If the bill were to be passed, Brazil’s “regulated gambling framework will prohibit online casino games whose outcomes are generated by electronic systems or algorithms”, reports SBC News.
While the new legislation would prohibit online casino games, the regulated market for fixed-odds sports betting would remain untouched. Additional bills, including PL 1,808/2026, have even been introduced with the aim of removing the entire regulated betting framework and banning the markets entirely, with other options including a focus on tightening restrictions on advertising, sponsorships and influencer marketing around gambling.
It remains under consideration in the Chamber of Deputies, though it will stillm require approval from both houses of the Brazilian Congress as well as approval from president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Da Silva, more commonly known as Lula, has made no secret of his negative opinions towards the gambling industry in Brazil, pointing out a lack of protections for consumers and little accountability in terms of licensing.
And with the 80-year-old holding the PT’s nomination for October’s elections, the perceived issues relating to online gambling are a concern among parts of the electorate, alongside wider issues such as foreign interference, national sovereignty, the cost of living and crime.
