More than BR$1bn ($200m) has been returned to bettors following Brazil's ban on online betting, according to figures supplied by operators to the federal government. A further BR$159m still needs to reach customers before the banking deadline on October 14.
The balance awaiting transfer has fallen from BR$1.2bn to BR$159m, Agência Brasil reported on October 10. The figures cover 22.5 million bettors holding 70.5 million accounts. They describe balances on betting platforms, rather than stakes or operator revenue.
Customers had until October 5 to withdraw their money voluntarily. Licensed betting websites and apps ceased operations on October 6 under Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, which prohibits fixed-odds betting and online gaming nationwide.
Operators were then required to send account and balance information to banks so the institutions could complete outstanding refunds.
Eight operators have still not supplied the necessary information. The Attorney General's Office, known as AGU, plans to seek court orders compelling them to do so. If bank transfers cannot be completed, the remaining funds will be passed to state-owned Caixa Econômica Federal for payment to bettors.
Most of the unresolved balances are small. Operator data indicates that 90% of the accounts awaiting repayment hold less than BR$1, while 97% hold less than BR$10. Those figures help explain why millions of individual accounts remain open even after most of the money has been distributed.
The refund process forms one part of the Brazilian Government's enforcement of the ban. From September 25 to October 9, authorities referred 16,627 unlicensed betting websites for blocking and requested removal of 3,691 related pages, profiles, channels and groups from digital platforms. Referral for blocking does not establish that every site has already been taken offline.
The provisional measure is in force while Congress considers whether to approve it. In the meantime, the banking process and any court action over missing customer data will determine how quickly the final balances reach bettors.
On October 6, Brazil's betting platform shutdown set out the start of the prohibition and the timetable that shifted outstanding customer balances from operators to banks for repayment.
The enforcement sweep also identified 1,027 Telegram groups linked to illegal betting, with approximately 18.5 million members
