Following President Lula’s decision to introduce a full ban on legal gambling in Brazil earlier in September, GR8_TECH has posed one of the most important questions – now what?
That’s exactly what the B2B tech provider’s report, titled ‘Operator Lens: Brazil’, aims to establish, putting a magnifying lens on the immediate consequences of the ban, such as licensing and compliance duties, player behaviour, brand visibility, payments, and last but definitely not least – the market’s future.
Some of the key findings reveal that between 25 September (the date of the ban) and 9 October, authorities in Brazil have submitted a staggering 16,627 gambling-related websites for blocking, as well as 3,691 social media pages, profiles and channels that also had to be taken down.
With many of these websites likely to have been licensed prior to the ban, the question now remains just how prevalent the black market will become, given that three out of four Brazilians had already gambled with an illegal provider at least once in 2025, according to the study.
Illegal gambling migration could be exacerbated even more by the fact that mobile penetration remains high in Brazil, GR8_TECH warned, with mobile phones responsible for around 63% of the web traffic in September 2026.
On the operator side, the report examines the mandatory shutdown orders and how businesses can remain compliant, as well as the various complex realities around player refunds and administrative reporting.
Looking ahead, GR8_TECH identifies three possible outcomes moving forward – either the ban remains in place, it is fully repealed, or it continues to exist but with some exceptions mandated by the government.
As a reminder, current President Lula da Silva is neck and neck with Flavio Bolsonaro in a presidential race scheduled to conclude on 25 October.
Despite mounting pressure from the now-former licensed sector for the government to claim responsibility for the millions of dollars invested in Brazil and the multi-year contracts becoming void overnight, both the National Congress and the Supreme Court have abstained from commenting on Lula’s ban until a new President becomes elected.
While a Lula victory could go in any direction, some experts claim that sports betting could be back in some form should Bolsonaro come into power.
For now, regulated gambling remains suspended in the air, with GR8_TECH making sure to keep operators in the loop through its latest report.
You can join GR8_TECH’s The Locker Room: Brazil After the Ban on October 29 for a private, operators-only workshop led by Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8_TECH.
It will be an open conversation about the challenges, possible scenarios, and practical next steps for operators navigating Brazil.
