TLDR
- Brazil’s Finance Ministry says it has no studies on the impact of banning sports betting and online gambling.
- Finance Minister Dario Durigan says the ban will reduce Selective Tax revenue in 2027.
- A joint committee to review the measure could be set up this week.
- The government rejects any change that keeps sports betting legal while banning online casinos.
- A final vote could slip to 2027 if Congress does not finish before the year-end recess.
Brazil’s Finance Ministry says it has no studies on what a ban on sports betting and online gambling would do to the economy. The admission comes as Congress prepares to review a government measure that would outlaw both activities.
The government wants the provisional measure, known as an MP, approved without changes. Lawmakers could begin formal review as soon as this week, though a final vote may slip into 2027.
Under the measure as written, both sports betting and online casino games would be banned. The government has made clear it wants the full ban to pass as one package.
No Studies Behind the Ban
In a response to an information request, the Finance Ministry said it found no studies, technical notes, legal opinions or reports on the impact of a full or partial ban. The request covered fixed-odds betting, online gambling and gambling advertising.
The ministry said such projections could not be made without building scenarios and making economic and behavioral assumptions. It added that the work would require technical studies across several fields.
Finance Minister Dario Durigan also said on Thursday that ending betting operations would reduce government revenue from the Selective Tax in 2027. The government had included betting companies in its earlier revenue estimates.
Durigan said the expected shortfall will need to be built into the 2027 budget plan. That budget has not yet been approved by Congress, so it will have to be revised.
The ministry’s statements came on the same day the government’s leader in Congress outlined plans for moving the measure forward. Both issues are now part of the debate in Brasília.
Committee Could Form This Week
Some lawmakers have filed amendments that would keep sports betting legal while banning online casino games. The government has said it will oppose that split.
“There is no agreement on anything,” said Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, the government leader in Congress. “The government’s intention is to approve the provisional measure in its entirety, exactly as it stands.”
Rodrigues said the government would work toward full approval. He has rejected the idea of a deal that separates sports betting from online casinos.
The government plans to hold votes in three steps. The joint committee would vote first, followed by the Chamber of Deputies and then the Federal Senate.
Rodrigues said the government is working toward finishing all three votes in 2026. He admitted the schedule could be hard to meet because of the parliamentary recess at the end of the year.
If Congress does not finish before the break, lawmakers would take up the measure again in 2027. The final hearing on the bill could then take place next year.
Speaking on Thursday, November 5, Rodrigues said the joint committee could be set up the following week. “I will try to establish it next week,” he said.
He planned to speak over the weekend with Senate President Davi Alcolumbre and Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta. The talks were meant to settle when the committee starts and who will sit on it.
The committee’s leadership has not yet been chosen. Rodrigues said that decision depends on his talks with Motta and Alcolumbre, who will play a central role in organizing the process.
