Brazil will proceed to apply a tax increase on fixed-odds betting licences from 2026 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, the Senate\u2019s Committee of Economic Affairs (CAE) <\/strong>approved a plan to raise taxes on betting licences from 12% to 18% of gross gaming revenue (GGR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The measure will be processed over a three-year period, rising from 12% to 15% by 2027 and onto a further threshold of 18% by 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CAE intervention changed the previous consideration to double taxes on Bets<\/strong> licences to 24%, which was considered following the PT government\u2019s failed attempt to pass tax hikes via a vote in Congress in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After that setback, the tax plan was returned to the Senate, where it was merged with new tax increases on fintech services to keep the government\u2019s fiscal package alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic projections indicate that the combined betting and fintech tax reforms will raise approximately R$5bn ($1bn) in federal revenue from 2026 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though modified, the measures have the backing of President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva <\/strong>and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad<\/strong>, who view the reform as the final piece needed to finance the PT government\u2019s expanded welfare programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still pending final approval, Lula has earmarked R$300bn ($60bn) for social spending in 2026, backing a mandate the President deems as \u201cthe largest social-investment package in Brazil\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An architect of the original betting regime, Finance Minister Haddad shifted course in August, abandoning plans to raise the financial-transaction tax (IOF) after congressional resistance. He instead turned to taxing Bets as a more politically viable alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the CAE\u2019s approval, the bill to increase betting and fintech taxes now advances to the Chamber of Deputies. If no senator requests a plenary review within five days, it will skip a full Senate vote and proceed directly to the lower house, where it will undergo further committee analysis before a final plenary decision. Any amendments will then return to the Senate for confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tax settlement of 18% GGR closes out a rollercoaster first year of the Bets regulatory regime, which has seen Brazil launch its fixed-odds and online gambling marketplace while operators adapt to new restrictions on bonuses, incentives and the targeting of low-income (Bolsa Fam\u00edlia) users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking to 2026, the government is expected to address several outstanding regulatory gaps including the creation of a federal self-exclusion register and the drafting of a dedicated bill to govern online gambling advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies will re-open suspended deliberations on PL 2,234\/2022, the long-running \u201ccasino bill\u201d that seeks to legalise and regulate land-based gambling under a new federal framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With major policy questions still unresolved and political dynamics shifting rapidly, Brazil is likely to remain the global gambling industry\u2019s most unpredictable market in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n