Critical Deadline for Bets: What You Need to Know

Today, at 23h59, it is the last minute for betting companies that need to shut down their websites and stop any kind of advertising related to the game. This order comes from a Provisional Measure issued by President Lula, but there is still expectation that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) will rule on the matter.

The Bets’ Battle

Betting companies are waiting for a decision from Justice Luiz Fux, who is the rapporteur for the Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADIs). They want a preliminary injunction to suspend the effects of the Provisional Measure. Even at the end of the election weekend, the bets’ lawyers managed to move the STF forward, strengthening this request.

Criticism of the Government

In the most recent statement, the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR) criticized a detail involving the requirement that sites be redirected. A letter from the National Secretariat for Digital Rights, linked to the Ministry of Justice, asked that betting sites redirect visits to a government portal, www.brasilsembets.gov.br.

“The redirection requested must be implemented directly by the companies that hold the domain,” the document states.

The betting representatives argue that this redirection “is the technical form of blocking in which, instead of seeing an error message, the user is sent to a warning page about the address being unavailable.” However, they also point out that the rule does not specify where the redirection should go, nor does it allow sites that have already built their audience to be used as government advertising.

Concern About Traffic

The petition also mentions that this type of redirection could lead to around 100 million daily visits to the Federal Government website. The audience that these betting companies have built over the years would, overnight, be transferred to a government channel, with no compensation whatsoever and without any legal basis for it.

Mobilization by Football Clubs

To make things even more interesting, even football clubs got involved. Yesterday, a group formed by Fluminense, Cruzeiro, and more 14 teams made an appeal for Justice Fux to suspend Provisional Measure No. 1.394/2026, until the issue is thoroughly discussed in Congress or until the merits of the action are ruled upon.

And that wasn’t all! They also asked that a date be set for a public hearing, where the STF can obtain crucial information about the betting scenario and how suspending this activity would affect Brazil.

Stay tuned, because this story is still expected to unfold further!