The complete gambling ban in Brazil continues to make headlines. Amendments are still possible until 13 October. Legislators want to at least save sports betting.
With a provisional measure, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has banned online betting. That includes casino games and sports betting. The president didn’t hold back, and providers have only a short deadline to pay out customers and go offline.
Legislators from several parties are now trying to give licensed providers a little more time. There is also an amendment that would refund licence fees. As it stands, those fees are simply to be retained.
Amendments can be submitted until next week, after which the provisional measure is set to become law. Until then, a motion is still to be put forward that would limit the ban to slots and keep sports betting legal.
Since poker is considered a game of skill, poker rooms remain active. PokerStars is so far the first major provider to comment on the matter: “We want to reassure you that PokerStars’ peer-to-peer poker offering is not covered by the measure, as it is played between players and is distinct from the fixed-odds betting products covered by the restrictions.
Therefore, poker remains available to Brazilian players, and players can continue to play poker on PokerStars as normal. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update players if there is any material change.”
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