Brazil betting ban leaves over 3,500 workers without jobs
An industry survey finds that 23% of Brazil's licensed betting workforce has already been laid off since President Lula's measure suspended sportsbook operations.
More than 3,500 workers in Brazil's regulated betting industry have lost their jobs since the government imposed Provisional Measure 1.394, which bars licensed sportsbooks from operating in the country, according to a survey released by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and reported by iGaming Business.
The figure represents 23% of the sector's total workforce. The data was compiled from information supplied by betting operators and published last Wednesday, covering terminations and layoffs recorded since 25 September, the date President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration announced the measure.
A further 4,167 employees are currently on collective furlough rather than having been dismissed outright. ANJL projects that total layoffs could reach 5,600 workers within 90 days, equivalent to 37% of the industry's workforce.
ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge said in a statement sent to betting operators that "we need real numbers to gauge the measure's effects on the workers and companies that rely on this activity."
Lemos Jorge argued the term betting industry reflects the breadth of businesses affected. "It is no coincidence that we use the term 'betting industry,' because that is exactly what it is," he said, noting the sector includes payment processors, marketing firms, compliance providers, agencies, affiliates and specialised media outlets.
He added that each of the job losses is being felt within families watching a member's income disappear because of what he described as "an unconstitutional decision that has yet to be judged by the Supreme Federal Court."
ANJL and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming have filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Federal Court seeking to overturn the ban. The case, under the rapporteurship of Justice Luiz Fux, includes a request for a preliminary injunction to suspend the provisional measure while the constitutional question is resolved.
Lemos Jorge said the delay in a ruling on that injunction risks converting part of the 4,167 furloughed workforce into permanent layoffs. "This is, therefore, another factor that reinforces the urgency of reviewing the request to suspend the PM," he said.
The survey's authors have described the layoffs recorded so far as a partial count, meaning the final scale of job losses tied to the measure remains unclear pending further data from operators and a decision from the Supreme Federal Court.