Brazil’s New iGaming Legislation Cuts Off Cryptocurrency Gaming

Gambling reforms in Brazil are underway, and the shakeup will definitely be felt by players. Over the past few months, Brazil’s gambling framework has come under political pressure, with proposed tax increases, retroactive levies, and strict payment restrictions. The regulatory overhaul will severely limit the payment methods gamers can use to manage money on betting sites and online casinos.

The bill, which was put to a vote on the 9th of October, has been approved, and with it, the new legislation will roll out in the next 90 days. Among the broader changes, it also spells the end of cryptocurrency gaming at licensed Brazilian sites, something which could prompt a huge response in players.

Quick Recap of Main Law Changes

Prior to the vote on October 9, we covered the majority of the proposed changes. Primarily, the rise of the legal gambling age from 18 to 21, fixed monthly spending caps for gamers, and tighter advertising laws for gambling operators. The gambling flat tax rate was increased from 21% up to 18% on October 1, another change that may lead to diminished bonuses and perks for gamers as operators need to leverage the loss in profits.

Then, there were new KYC protocols introduced, with mandatory facial recognition technology, and submission of CPF numbers, with the possibility to request income validation from gamers. But another area that has been impacted is the approved payment methods that licensed operators can provide.

Change in Brazil’s Gambling Payment Methods

Brazil’s new iGaming regulations will ban the following payment methods at licensed gambling sites:

• Credit Cards
• Payment Slips
• Cheques
• Cash in Hand
• Cryptocurrencies

The idea is to have only approved payment gateways, such as Brazil’s PIX electronic payment service. And through this, the gambling regulator, SPA, can block off unregulated gambling sites and any online casinos or sportsbooks that are operating in Brazil through the gray market area.

Approved methods:

• PIX (Banco Central do Brasil official payment gateway)
• TED (Transferência Eletrônica Disponível)
• Bank card payments

The accepted payment options will be highly regulated and monitored by the Brazilian gambling regulator to enforce limits and also help to keep an eye on any problem gambling habits.

Does Brazil Want Crypto Gaming

Raising the legal gambling age, enforcing limits and tighter KYC, increasing tax levies on operators and cutting players off from crypto gaming are all highly controversial, and contentious, decisions that can push players to look beyond the regulated and licensed Brazilian gambling operators. A study by the Brazilian Responsible Gambling council, Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável, back in June, found that nearly 3 in 5 gamblers admitted to betting on unregulated platforms in 2025.

The highlights of the study include:

• 73% of all respondents have bet at least once on unregulated gambling platforms in 2025
• 78% say it is hard to recognize which platforms are regulated and which are not

And of the bettors who used illegal platforms.

• 77% said unregulated platforms were their “Main” or “Only” sites they bet on

And when asked about the methods used to make deposits, an interesting stat popped up in regard to cryptocurrencies.

• 28% of respondents made cryptocurrency deposits

Cryptocurrency betting is certainly not lost on the Brazilian market, and the appetite for it is definitely there. It is not just a means of avoiding local gambling legislation or evading the Brazilian 30% tax rate for players (on winnings above R$2,112) either.

Cryptocurrency Usage in Brazil

Cryptocurrencies are hugely popular in Brazil, for their anonymity, speed of withdrawals and deposits, cheaper network fees, and the ability to avoid strict banking limitations. They are pretty widespread in Brazil, with top tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins accounting for the majority of the traffic. The scale of cryptocurrencies in Brazil cannot be ignored. Between July 2024 and June 2025, Brazil recorded over US$ 318 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, the highest in Latin America. Stablecoins made up 90% of that volume, suggesting that the consensus seems to gravitate toward tokens with less market volatility.

They, of course, can be used to access international online casinos and sportsbooks that support cryptocurrencies and are not restricted by local legislation. These operators, running on licenses in crypto friendly jurisdictions, serve Brazilian gamers in the gray area of the market. In that they hold licenses, but are not officially recognized, and even fall into the bracket of “illegal gambling operators” in the eyes of the state. But gamers are not prohibited from using them.

Perks of Crypto Casinos

The main benefits, of evading local banking restrictions and playing for valuable cryptocurrencies, cannot be understated. But there are many other reasons why these sites attract gamers from Brazil, and around the world. The crypto first online casinos can unlock the full potential of the blockchain, making many aspects of the gaming product more streamlined and player-friendly.

• Limited to No KYC: They can use crypto wallet based identification, bypassing KYC verification and protocols
• Provably Fair Games: A lot of crypto first games use blockchain powered RNGs, which are verifiable by players and have better transparency
• Network Speed and Fees: The deposits and withdrawals are faster, and much cheaper than most fiat payment services
• Unique Crypto First Rewards: Crypto casinos can offer unique staking rewards, crypto faucet bonuses, real time cashback/rakeback and other crypto first rewards schemes

Outlook for Crypto Gaming in Brazil

Brazil’s legal gambling reform was designed to improve oversight and tax collection, but the crypto ban risks driving away some of its most engaged users. The country’s huge appetite for digital assets and online gaming isn’t fading, and this will no doubt cause friction between players/operators and the lawmakers. It may be made to promote responsible gambling and curb the unregulated market. But it may just turn more players towards what lawmakers are describing as the black market.

Anyone who hasn’t kept track may get a rude shock when the monthly caps are imposed, KYC verification gets tighter, and they find themselves limited to a handful of payment options. The bonuses and rewards schemes offered at gaming sites will also most likely shrink or be substantially diminished.

Blocking off cryptocurrency gaming is an extremely bold move, and one that risks losing volumes of players. The SPA has indicated these are only a minority within the market. But the figures of 28% of deposits coming from crypto in 2025, and the CoinCentral stats around Brazil’s cryptocurrency use, would suggest that this is a growing shift in the iGaming landscape. Unless regulators find a compliant way to integrate stablecoins or blockchain-verified payment methods, the gap between Brazil’s regulated and black market gambling economies is likely to keep growing. For now, crypto casinos in Brazil remain illegal, but very much alive.