Brazil has blocked access to prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, as regulators moved to prevent what officials described as an unregulated betting market from expanding in the country.
Speaking in Brasília on Friday, Finance Minister Dario Durigan said telecoms regulator Anatel had shut down 27 platforms operating in Brazil. Reuters initially reported that officials cited 28 platforms before the Finance Ministry later revised the figure.
By Friday afternoon, websites linked to both Polymarket and Kalshi were inaccessible in Brazil.
The crackdown was paired with a separate regulatory move from Brazil’s National Monetary Council, which introduced new rules limiting which underlying assets can be used in derivatives trading.
Under the framework, derivatives contracts can now only be tied to pre-defined economic and financial benchmarks such as interest rates, exchange rates and price indices.
Contracts linked to sports events, online gaming, elections, cultural outcomes and social events have been banned.
Economic Reforms Secretary Regis Dudena said some prediction platforms had attempted to classify their offerings as financial products despite functioning similarly to betting services.
Dudena commented: “This product that was being presented as a security carried the potentially very destructive features of gambling.”
Brazil launched its regulated online betting market at the beginning of 2025 after years of operating in a grey market.
The framework introduced licensing requirements, tax rules and stricter consumer protections as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government responded to concerns around rising household debt and problem gambling.
The latest restrictions arrive as prediction markets face growing pressure in multiple jurisdictions.
In March 2026, Argentina became the first Latin American market to block Polymarket after Buenos Aires authorities ruled it was operating as an unlicensed gambling service.
Earlier this week, Wisconsin regulators filed legal action against Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Crypto.com over sports-related event contracts.
Brazil’s decision also creates uncertainty around XP International’s March partnership with Kalshi, which had given Brazilian investors access to event contracts through offshore accounts.
Additionally, this month, French authorities opened an investigation into alleged manipulation tied to a $34,000 weather bet on Polymarket after unusual temperature readings at Charles de Gaulle Airport triggered payouts.
Kalshi’s partnership with XP International in March was its first agreement with a financial institution outside the US
