Brazil's Central Bank has incorporated a ban on fixed-odds betting transactions into the rules governing Pix, boleto and TED payments, following the Government's decision to prohibit the sector nationwide.
Three resolutions covering the payment methods require participating financial and payment institutions to prevent transactions destined for fixed-odds betting operators.
The rules provide an exception for transactions needed to close operations and return money to bettors.
The measures implement Provisional Measure 1,394, issued by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on September 25. The measure prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting in Brazil, including services provided from overseas to customers located in the country.
The legislation represents a reversal of the regulated framework that had operated nationally since January 2025. Under that system, operators required prior authorization from the Ministry of Finance's Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), with federally authorized platforms using the .bet.br domain.
Payment controls were already a central component of that framework. Bettors were required to transfer funds electronically from a registered account in their own name, while operators had to immediately return transfers originating from unregistered accounts. Credit-funded betting was also prohibited.
The new rules go further by preventing betting-related payment flows as the sector closes. Operators must make their betting websites and applications unavailable 10 days after the provisional measure's publication.
Open bets that remain unresolved by that point must be voided and stakes returned without deductions.
The Central Bank had already issued Resolution 590 on September 28, requiring financial institutions, payment institutions and other payment arrangement participants to prevent the processing and settlement of betting transactions.
The latest restrictions also follow measures introduced earlier in September to strengthen financial controls against unauthorized betting. SPA's Portaria 2,750 expanded procedures for identifying and preventing transactions associated with illegal fixed-odds operators.
In February, Caixa introduced operational changes to Pix across its lottery network following concerns from lottery agents about financial exposure under the Central Bank's Special Refund Mechanism.
Brazil's betting operators must maintain sufficient liquidity to repay customer balances, voided stakes and outstanding prizes during the closure process
