Alcolumbre Act Keeps Brazil’s Fixed-Odds Betting Ban Alive for 60 Days

Senator Davi Alcolumbre, president of the National Congress board, has extended Brazil’s provisional fixed-odds betting ban by 60 days. The act was published in the Official Gazette on November 11, 2026, after being signed on November 10, 2026, keeping the prohibition on wagers involving real sporting events and virtual online games in force during the congressional review.

A provisional measure has immediate legal force but requires subsequent consideration by the Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate to become definitive ordinary legislation. The National Congress’s procedural guide sets an initial 60-day term and an automatic extension for an equal period when voting has not been completed in both houses. Alcolumbre’s act continues the existing framework while leaving its final form to lawmakers.

On the day the act was published, the measure’s legislative file still showed it awaiting installation of its joint committee. The original calendar listed deliberation through November 23, 2026, with urgency beginning November 9, 2026. Lawmakers presented 99 amendments before the amendment period closed on October 13, 2026. The committee must issue an opinion before the measure goes to either plenary.

The joint committee comprises 12 voting senators and 12 voting deputies, with an equal number of alternates. It examines relevance and urgency, the merits, and financial and budgetary suitability before voting on an opinion. That opinion can recommend approval of the original text, a conversion bill containing changes, or rejection.

The Chamber votes first and the Senate follows; rejection by either house ends the measure’s validity and proceedings. Approval of the original text leads to promulgation as ordinary law, while an approved conversion bill goes to the president for approval or veto.

What the Extension Keeps in Force

The measure published on September 25, 2026 prohibits the operation, offering and intermediation of fixed-odds betting in physical and virtual environments, including offers from overseas operators to people in Brazil. It covers real sporting events and virtual online games but excludes other lottery modalities authorized by law. Its transition provisions barred new authorizations as of its publication, provided for existing authorizations to be extinguished after 30 days and required operators to make betting websites and applications unavailable after ten days.

Open wagers still unsettled at the shutdown deadline became void, with full stakes refundable without deductions. Operators had to secure refund funds and supply individualized repayment information to financial and payment institutions, which were required to return balances and prizes. Failure to meet the specified operator duties carries a daily R$200,000 fine.

Betting-related payment processing is otherwise prohibited except for transactions needed to close operations and refund customers. Advertising, marketing and sponsorship are also banned, with website blocking and duties for internet platforms and app stores supporting enforcement.

The act prolongs the measure’s validity without creating new operator deadlines or replacing the original transition dates. The next congressional step is installation of the joint committee, whose opinion is required before plenary votes determine whether the prohibition becomes ordinary law as drafted, is rewritten through a conversion bill or is rejected.