Brazilian Senators Approve a Betting Ban Hearing and Propose Inviting the CBF

The Senate's Economic Affairs Committee approved a public hearing on Provisional Measure 1.394 on 4 November but has set no date. A follow-up request would bring in the football confederation, which told the Supreme Federal Tribunal the ban will cost it R$420 million in 2027.

• The Senate's Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) approved on 4 November a request by Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo for a public hearing on Provisional Measure 1.394, which banned fixed-quota betting in Brazil
• The Senate's news agency said on 9 November that no date has been set
• A second request, still awaiting a decision, proposes inviting two ministers, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the Olympic committee, retailers and licensed operators
• The CBF put its 2027 loss from the ban at R$420 million, approximately $77 million, at the Supreme Federal Tribunal's 3 November hearing, without publishing how it reached the figure
• The joint committee that must report on the measure has still not been installed, and its first request asks the government for the documents behind the ban

The Senate Opens Its Own Debate on the Betting Ban

Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB) filed REQ 108/2026 on the morning of 3 November, as the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) hearing opened, co-signed by Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), Renan Filho (MDB-AL), Leany Lemos (PSB-DF) and Esperidião Amin (PP-SC). The committee approved it at its meeting on 4 November. The request asks for a hearing with the executive, specialists, consumer bodies and the sectors involved, citing household debt, advertising and mental health.

It wants the debate held "antes que sejam adotadas decisões judiciais definitivas" (before definitive judicial decisions are adopted). Agência Senado reported it on 9 November, a day after Justice Luiz Fux froze every lower court challenge to the measure, and said that "a data da audiência pública ainda será definida" (the date of the public hearing is yet to be set).

The Proposed Guest List Includes the CBF

On 5 November Veneziano filed REQ 114/2026, dated 4 November, proposing six guests: Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, Wellington César Lima e Silva, whom the request names as Minister of Justice, and representatives of the Retail Development Institute (IDV), the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), the CBF and the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB). It awaits a decision.

Whose R$420 Million It Is

The R$420 million is the CBF's own estimate of its revenue loss in 2027, presented at the STF hearing by its lawyer, Igor Mauler Santiago, according to BNLData, an industry title, and SBT News. Both report that the loss grows in later years and that the measure arrived as the CBF and state federations renegotiated sponsorship for 2027 to 2030. Neither breaks the figure down between the national team, competitions and broadcast, or gives a method. SBT News quotes the CBF's representative: "O efeito é cumulativo, uma bola de neve negativa" (the effect is cumulative, a negative snowball).

Santiago offered two alternatives, BNLData reported: ban online casino but keep sports betting under tight restrictions, or ban betting with a transition through the 2030 World Cup cycle, citing the Premier League, which he said gave clubs three seasons to drop front-of-shirt deals. The clubs' losses are separate: at the same hearing Flamengo put its own at about R$430 million a year, and SBT News reports that 27 of the 40 Série A and B clubs carry a betting brand as main sponsor, in deals worth about R$1 billion, approximately $183 million, or 35% of the clubs' sponsorship revenue. One sponsor, Esportes da Sorte, has already asked to leave its Corinthians deal without a fine.

The Joint Committee Has Not Started

The joint committee on the measure has been awaiting installation since 21 October, and its deliberation period ends on 23 November. On 5 November Deputy Capitão Alden (PL-BA) filed its first request, asking it to obtain the Casa Civil's full file behind the measure, including studies and impact estimates, and to invite the finance minister, the Secretary of Prizes and Betting and the Casa Civil minister. He cites BBC News Brasil reporting that the Casa Civil refused access-to-information requests for those documents on 29 October, citing attorney-client privilege.

A Senate Hearing Can Inform the Vote but Cannot Cast It

The measure goes to the joint committee and then to both chambers; the CAE has no formal role, and the committee that does has not been installed. An undated hearing may come after 23 November, though that deadline can be extended once by 60 days. Its value is to put the arguments the STF heard on the legislative record, with five senators from three parties behind it.

The CBF's Figure Needs a Method Before It Can Carry Weight

R$420 million is an interested party's projection, not an audited loss. The government's case is no better documented: the Finance Ministry told a records request it held no impact study the day before the ban, and the Casa Civil has refused its preparatory papers, according to Alden's request. A hearing that obtained either side's working would add more than another round of numbers.

Sport Is Asking for Time, Not Repeal

At the STF the CBF and the clubs pressed for a transition. Congress can write one into law, and several of the 99 amendments go further and restore the licences. A phase-out for shirt deals would help sport without reopening the licensed market, so the CBF and the operators' IBJR may share a panel without sharing a goal.

The Senate has agreed to talk about the betting ban but not when, and the committee that must report on it has not met. Until it does, the CBF's R$420 million remains an argument made to judges rather than to legislators.