With Lula’s re-election, the betting sector will again begin mobilising for discussion with the Brazilian Executive to discuss the ban on betting.
Provisional Measure 1,394, announced by Lula last month, revoked all betting licences as of Sunday, and the first action will be to try to recover the authorisations.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) issued a statement recognising the victory and making itself available to re-establish dialogue.
Despite Lula’s criticism of the sector, the ANJL hopes for a democratic and transparent debate with the government. This could open the door to finding a solution that revives the market.
The organisation believes that the discussions can lead to a positive outcome for the return of betting. For the ANJL, combatting illegal operators should be the appropriate course of action.
The regulated market was surprised a month ago by the enactment of Provisional Measure 1,394, which banned betting in the country.
The measure, largely seen as one aimed at securing more votes in the upcoming election, led to the interruption of the licensed betting sector only 22 months after its regulation.
In 2025, the sector contributed BRL9.95 billion ($1.8 billion) to public coffers. This year, until the ban, the Federal Revenue Service collected BRL11.1 billion in revenue from games and bets.
The expectation was a total of approximately BRL15 billion for the entire year of 2026. With the ban, the government closed the door on this influx of resources into the public coffers.
At the same time, it opened the doors wide to the illegal market, which took advantage of the prohibition to recruit bettors to clandestine websites.
On these sites, there is no protection for the player, minors can access the platforms and there is no tax collection. There is also no guarantee that the bettor will be able to withdraw any winnings.
Note from ANJL
“The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) congratulates President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election,” the association said. “As a representative of fixed-odds betting companies in Brazil, the association hopes that dialogue will be restored and the democratic rule of law will prevail.”
The ANJL reaffirmed its commitment to social well-being and said it will make itself available to work with the National Congress and the Executive Branch “to improve the regulated market and combat illegal betting, which unfortunately dominated the country during the ban on legalised companies.”