Banks and financial institutions in Brazil are starting to refund about R$1.325 billion of money deposited in the online betting platforms that were impacted by PM No. 1,394/2026. Banks and financial institutions in Brazil have started to return R$1.325 billion of funds left in bettors’ accounts after the shutdown of the impacted online betting platforms. The government will pay around 26.5 million people outstanding balances by Wednesday, Oct. 14.
This measure was activated on 25th September, and the affected sites or applications started to be shut down from 6th October. Gamblers were given until 11:59 p.m. Oct. 5 to opt out of the money on their own before the money-backs were handed over to financial institutions.
Betting firms had to provide data that included the remaining amounts held on the CPFs of their customers and their bank accounts where the money was deposited. The information was to be used by banks to determine who is eligible and to process the refunds.
How Bettors Can Receive Their Money
The government has announced a timetable for the financial institutions to process refunds. When making the move, customers must keep an eye on the bank account where they deposited money on the affected betting sites, as it will be part of the refund procedure.
The government had set a schedule that would end the voluntary withdrawals on October 5, launch the shutdown of the platforms on October 6, and send information on the customers’ balance to banks on October 7 and 8. The primary refund period is Oct. 9–14.
Caixa Econômica Federal, a Brazilian state-owned bank, will deal with cases where difficulties in an institution’s operations make it impossible to complete the refunds in the normal process.
Millions of Accounts Hold Less Than R$1
Many of the accounts with money in them have small amounts. The government estimates that there are around 86.2 million accounts in the range of R$0.01 and R$0.99, totaling R$15.5 million.
There are more accounts than there are believed to be bettors, because a bettor can have many accounts at different betting operators. Total accounts therefore are not necessarily the number of distinct customers who are receiving a refund.
The numbers show just how massive the reimbursement process was, and how many accounts there were to balance out with the financial institutions after the affected platforms were shut down.
Provisional Measure Faces Congressional and Judicial Scrutiny
Shutdowns are due to Provisional Measure No. 1,394/2026, which was published on September 25. It will still need to be approved by Brazil’s National Congress within the lawful time frame to come into effect.
The members of the joint congressional committee tasked with reviewing the legislation have been announced, and the deadline for amendments has been pushed back to Oct. 13. Legislators will thus have some time to discuss the provisions of the measure and have it reviewed to see if any changes should be made.
The measure is also being disputed in Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), where Justice Luiz Fux is the rapporteur. Considering the status of the measure has been delayed until after the elections, its longer-term status remains to be seen based on additional legal and legislative developments.
These challenges are continuing, and the refund process is ongoing. Its short-term goal is to pay out eligible surpluses to customers, but the fate of the wider betting ban will be determined by Congress and the Supreme Court.
