Federal government imposes restrictions on online gambling platforms to reduce compulsive gambling.

The federal government has announced a set of restrictions on the operation of sports betting platforms. The decree, drafted by the Sports Betting Secretariat (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance, is expected to be published by the beginning of next week, according to sources familiar with the discussions interviewed by Folha de S.Paulo.

The measures go beyond the advertising rules issued in July 2026, during the World Cup, and will directly regulate the user experience within the platforms. The content of the ordinance is defined and awaits final technical evaluation by the Ministry of Finance before publication.

Among the new prohibitions is the requirement of a minimum interval of five seconds between one bet and the next. The aim is to give the bettor a moment of reflection before placing a new bet, especially after a loss, when the tendency to try to "recover" the money can worsen the debt. The autoplay mode , which allows programming automatic bets without individual user action, will also be banned.

Platforms will also be prohibited from using timers or timers to pressure hasty decisions, nor from pre-selecting values ​​on deposit or betting screens. Festive sound effects, such as the clinking of coins, will be banned. This type of feature is common in slot machines and serves to encourage the user to continue playing.

Another prohibition targets attempts to retain bettors' money on the platform; advertisements, promotions, and pop-ups used to discourage withdrawals will be banned. The government will also prohibit the publication of rankings of the biggest winners and the dissemination of tutorials or statistics that suggest that results depend on skill or analysis.

Reaction from companies and the sector

A meeting with representative entities from the sector took place this Tuesday (August 4th) to present the measures. The announcement was met with criticism behind the scenes by companies, which are awaiting the formal publication of the regulations before publicly commenting.

The document was prepared with the participation of the Consumer Protection Secretariat (Senacon) and the National Secretariat for Digital Rights (Sedigi), of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in addition to the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency (Secom) and SPA itself.

Researchers' evaluation

Economist Daniel Abreu, author of research on the factors that motivate betting , positively assesses the proposal to limit the time between bets and ban the automatic mode. He considers, however, that five seconds may not be the ideal interval. In his study, Abreu identified that bettors intensify their gambling after losses, in an attempt to recover the damage, which increases the volume of resources applied. Based on this, he suggests that, in the future, the creation of progressively longer intervals should be evaluated according to the volume of the loss.

Abreu also praises the ban on coin sound effects, stating that this type of stimulus distorts the gambler's perception of the money involved, making them feel like they are playing a video game instead of operating with real resources.

Flavio Ataliba, a researcher at FGV Ibre (Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation), praises the prohibitions on hindering withdrawals, publishing rankings of top winners, and disseminating content that suggests betting depends on skill.

Context of the regulation

In July 2026, during the World Cup, SPA (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol - Football Society of Brazil) published a decree restricting advertising by betting companies. Advertisements were prohibited from inducing a sense of urgency or promising financial gains. Warnings with one of the following texts also became mandatory: “The Ministry of Finance warns: gambling makes you lose money”, “gambling can cause addiction” or “gambling is not an investment”.

However, some government officials believe the measure was ineffective. The criticism is that allowing a choice between the three phrases led most companies to adopt the milder one, "a gamble is not an investment."