Brazil's National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) has criticized the exclusion of regulated betting representatives from a meeting convened by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss the social and economic effects of online gambling.
The meeting brought together representatives from health, commerce, culture and child protection alongside Government ministers. Participants raised concerns over gambling-related harm, indebtedness and the effect of betting on household finances.
Lula said the Government would discuss its response this week and raised the possibility of a "more drastic" decision.
ANJL said representatives of the regulated industry were not invited. It also highlighted the absence of the Ministry of Finance's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), which regulates federally authorized operators.
ANJL President, Plínio Lemos Jorge, said: "Any serious and responsible debate about the effects of betting platforms must necessarily include listening to regulated agents, who have data, technical expertise, and in-depth knowledge of how the market works."
The dispute comes as Brazil considers further restrictions following the introduction of its federally regulated fixed-odds betting market in January 2025.
The SPA's 2026-27 regulatory agenda includes reviews of operator authorization procedures and measures designed to prevent payment transactions involving unauthorized operators.
The Ministry of Finance said in August that 85 companies had been authorized by the SPA to operate fixed-odds betting in Brazil. Separately, Government data showed that five million people had been blocked from authorized platforms or had opted for self-exclusion by August.
Political pressure on the sector is also increasing in Congress. The Senate's Science and Technology Committee approved PL 2,470/2026 on Wednesday, proposing extensive restrictions on betting advertising and sponsorship alongside additional requirements covering vulnerable players, self-exclusion and higher-risk gambling products.
The proposal now moves to the Senate plenary under an urgency request.
ANJL said it intends to request another meeting with the Brazilian Government and argued that policy discussions should distinguish federally regulated operators from the illegal market.
Earlier this month, ANJL was admitted as amicus curiae in constitutional challenges to Brazil's Betting Law being considered by the Supreme Court, allowing the association to submit technical evidence in proceedings overseen by Justice Luiz Fux.
Brazil's centralized self-exclusion platform had recorded more than 1.2 million requests by August 2026
