Brazil Moves to Restrict Prediction Markets by Law
Brazil.- 7 August 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com Federal Deputy Jonas Donizette has introduced legislation seeking to incorporate into Brazilian law restrictions preventing prediction markets from offering contracts linked to sport, politics, elections, culture and entertainment.
The proposal would limit these platforms to events of an economic and financial nature, including interest rates and foreign-exchange movements.
News Details
The bill seeks to transform a resolution issued by the National Monetary Council in April 2026 into federal law.
The administrative measure established that prediction markets may not operate on sport or other events outside the economic and financial sphere.
Following its publication, the Ministry of Finance ordered the blocking of at least 27 platforms offering markets related to sport, politics, elections, culture and other subjects.
Polymarket and Kalshi are among the companies whose activities in this segment have faced scrutiny.
Industry Context
Brazil currently has two principal regulatory frameworks relevant to these products.
Fixed-odds betting is governed by Law 14,790/2023 and supervised by the Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting.
Derivative contracts are regulated by Law 6,385/1976 and overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil.
The debate centres on platforms offering contracts involving political, cultural or entertainment events that do not fit clearly within either regulatory regime.
Transforming the resolution into legislation would provide the restriction with greater legal stability and make future changes through administrative decisions alone more difficult.
Statements
Jonas Donizette stated in the bill’s justification:
“Before the resolution was issued, these platforms benefited from an area of regulatory uncertainty.”
He added:
“A significant proportion of the activity carried out by these platforms, particularly where the subject of the bet was a political, cultural or entertainment event, did not fit precisely within either of the two regimes.”
According to the legislator, this situation allowed companies to argue that their activities were lawful because no express prohibition existed.
Next Steps or Impact
The proposal must progress through the relevant committees of the Chamber of Deputies before a potential vote.
Should it be approved, Brazil would establish a stricter legal separation between regulated sports betting, financial instruments and contracts based on political, cultural or social events.
The measure could permanently restrict international prediction-market platforms that do not hold authorisation under Brazil’s existing regulatory regimes.
EditĂł: @fonta
