The ban has already wiped out 23% of the sector's jobs in Brazil
There is one figure that puts the rest into perspective. As of October 13, the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias recorded the elimination of over 3,500 jobs across the betting sector, noting that this cut accounts for 23 percent of the industry's entire workforce. That proportion reveals the scale of the affected ecosystem: if 3,500 people represent 23 percent, the total workforce stood at roughly 15,200.
Building on that baseline, the figures that follow shift in magnitude. In addition to the layoffs already finalized, 4,167 workers have been placed on collective leave—a measure that, in practice, typically precedes formal termination. Combined, the 7,667 impacted employees represent around 50 percent of the overall workforce, meaning that half of the sector is currently either out of work or in limbo. The association's own projections estimate 5,600 dismissals within three months, representing 37 percent of the original staff.
The salary structure explains why the fallout extends beyond a simple headcount. According to data from LCA Consultores, the betting supply chain paid an average salary of R$7,000 in 2025, with an absolute majority of its employees earning more than four minimum wages. Based on that average, the 3,500 positions already eliminated represent approximately R$24.5 million in monthly payroll that has ceased circulating, excluding social security contributions and the knock-on effect on local consumption in the cities where these companies are headquartered.
The ripple effect does not stop with sportsbooks either. The shutdown impacts sports, entertainment, media, advertising, technology, and innovation—namely, the suppliers that generated revenue from a market that ground to a halt overnight. This is the hardest segment to quantify, as it does not appear in ANJL's sectoral headcounts and its layoffs are logged across other industries.
The political backdrop is what gives these numbers their weight. On Thursday 22, during a YouTube livestream with Federal Deputy André Janones and influencer Nath Finanças, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reaffirmed that the ban is irreversible. "Bets will not return. Anyone who wants to make money should go to work," he said—a statement that strikes an awkward note amid formal job losses on this scale, essentially urging people to go to work in a sector that just lost half its jobs due to an administrative decision.
None of this is final just yet. Provisional Measure 1.394, signed on September 25, bans commercial operations, payment processing, and advertising for sports betting and online casino operators. While it currently holds the force of law and is fully in effect, it still requires approval from the National Congress to become permanent and faces direct legal challenges before the Supreme Federal Court under Reporting Justice Luiz Fux, who scheduled his ruling for after the runoff election. The job market, by contrast, has already adjusted.
The Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias is the trade body representing betting and lottery operators that had secured authorization in the Brazilian regulated market, and it is among the entities that filed direct actions of unconstitutionality against the provisional measure. LCA Consultores is a Brazilian economic consultancy that produces sectoral research on the labor market and productive activity.
Tags: Brasil, employment, ANJL, ban