Brasilia, Oct. 7, 2026 (Lusa) – The Brazilian government has taken down 11,740 betting platform websites since it banned this type of gambling in Brazil on 25 September, Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Tuesday.

The statement came on the same day that betting websites and apps became unavailable in Brazil, as part of the timetable set out in the Provisional Measure issued by President Lula da Silva, nine days before the first round of the elections.

«It was the first day on which we had no authorisation whatsoever for betting sites to operate in the country. So, today [Tuesday] the government has brought every website under full regulatory control,» said Durigan at a press conference in Brasília.

«The 188 ‘websites' and addresses that had previously been authorised are now offline, and we are continuing to bring illegal websites into compliance,» he added.

The finance minister also said that authorities had previously identified transactions of up to 650 million reais a day, or around €116.12 million, and that this figure is now practically zero.

«Money from the real economy that now stays with families – that is a gain,» he emphasised, adding that betting operators have until Wednesday to inform banks of each punter's individual balance, with the aim of returning the money to punters.

Durigan also noted that around 1% of punters, approximately 200,000 people, account for 80% of the balance still held on betting platforms.

Durigan also said around 1.325 billion reais, approximately €236.7 million, belonging to punters, remains deposited in bookmakers' accounts.

MYMA/ADB // ADB.

Lusa