Brazil Gambling Licence Cost After the 2026 Ban
Brazil's BRL 30M grant fee is not refunded under MP 1,394, and no new licence can be bought. What licensed operators still owe and what the ban costs.
Contents
This page used to add up the cost of a Brazilian licence: the grant fee, the capital, the reserve and the tax. Since 25 September 2026 there is no licence to price. Medida Provisória nº 1,394 bans fixed-odds betting in Brazil, bars new authorisations and ends the existing ones 30 days after publication. What is left to cost is the exit.
- No Brazilian gaming licence can be obtained while MP 1,394 is in force.
- The grant fee paid under Law 14,790/2023, capped at BRL 30 million for three brands, is not refunded (art. 4).
- Licensed operators must fund full player refunds within two days of going offline (art. 8).
- Missing the refund duties costs R$200,000 a day (art. 8 §2).
- Tax and other obligations from the licensed period stay due (art. 10).
The grant fee is not coming back
Under article 12 of Law 14,790/2023 an authorisation was issued only after the operator paid a fixed grant fee set by the Ministry of Finance, capped at BRL 30 million for three commercial brands. The authorisation was meant to run for five years. MP 1,394 cuts that short: every authorisation is extinguished at the end of 30 days from publication. Article 4’s single paragraph says the extinction follows from public interest and gives the operator no right to have the fee returned in whole or in part, and no right to compensation from the state.
For an operator that paid in 2025, that is the largest single loss in the measure. Whether any of it can be recovered is a question for Brazilian counsel, and it may also depend on what Congress does with the measure.
What the wind-down costs
The measure turns the operator’s player balances into a refund bill with a short deadline. From publication, no new money may enter the transactional accounts, except proceeds from assets that already held player funds (art. 7 §1). Bets still open when the sites go dark, ten days after publication, are void and the stakes are returned in full with no deductions (art. 7 §2). Prizes on bets settled before then must be paid (art. 7 §3).
Within two days of going offline the operator must have the money for all of it available and liquid, and send its banks and the SPA an itemised list by CPF of who is owed what and from which account (art. 8). The funds stay segregated and can be used only for those payments. The banks then have seven days to pay players (art. 9), and anything they cannot pay goes to a dedicated account at Caixa Econômica Federal. The operator stays liable for shortfalls and differences (art. 9 §4). The daily fine for missing the article 8 steps is R$200,000 until the operator complies.
| Cost line | Under MP 1,394 | Article |
|---|---|---|
| New licence | Not available | Art. 6 |
| Grant fee already paid | Not refunded, no compensation | Art. 4 |
| Player balances, voided bets, prizes | Refunded in full through the operator’s banks | Arts. 7 to 9 |
| Missing the refund steps | R$200,000 per day | Art. 8 §2 |
| Past-period tax and payments | Still due | Art. 10 |
Tax and fees for the licensed period
Ending the authorisation does not end the bills it created. Article 10 keeps the regulatory, tax and payment obligations for the period the operator was authorised, including the legal allocations of betting revenue. Article 29 repeals Chapter V of Law 13,756/2018, which held the fixed-odds rules and the monthly supervision fee, but its sole paragraph keeps the old laws applicable to what happened while the authorisations were in force. Pending sanction proceedings are suspended and are closed for good if the operator meets all its wind-down duties on time (art. 13), which is a reason to get the refunds right.
If you were budgeting for Brazil
If Brazil was in next year’s plan, take it out while the measure stands. A provisional measure lapses unless Congress converts it within 60 days, extendable once by 60 (Constitution, art. 62), so the position could change, but nothing can be applied for in the meantime. Our Brazil guide explains the measure in full. For costs in markets that are still open, the Cost Calculator and Fee Index cover the licences we work with, and a free consultation is the quickest way to compare them for your product.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Brazil gambling licence cost now?
Nothing can be bought. Medida Provisória 1,394 of 25 September 2026 bars new authorisations for fixed-odds betting, so there is no Brazilian licence fee to budget for while the measure is in force.
Do licensed operators get their BRL 30 million grant fee back?
No. Article 4 of the measure says the extinction of authorisations is a matter of public interest and gives no right to a full or partial refund of the grant fee paid under article 12 of Law 14,790/2023, and no right to compensation from the state.
What do licensed operators still have to pay?
Player refunds come first: balances, the stakes on voided bets and prizes already won, paid out through the operator's banks. Tax and other obligations for the period the authorisation ran remain due (art. 10). Missing the refund steps costs R$200,000 a day until the operator complies (art. 8 §2).
Is the monthly inspection fee still charged?
The monthly supervision fee (Taxa de Fiscalização) sat in Chapter V of Law 13,756/2018, which article 29 of the measure repeals. The old rules still apply to periods when the authorisations ran.
Sources
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before acting.
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