The Brazilian government officially unveiled the Novo Desenrola Brasil on Monday.
To make the programme feasible, the government negotiated with banks to reduce interest rates on debts that are between 90 days and two years past due. This applies to default rates on credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans. The renegotiated debt will be subject to discounts ranging from 30% to 90%, with a maximum interest rate of 1.99% per month. The programme will prevent its members from placing online bets.
To participate in Desenrola Brasil, stakeholders should visit their banks’ official channels. Once they have signed up, they will be barred from placing bets on online gaming platforms for a period of one year. Financial institutions will be prohibited from making transfers to bookmakers. Participants may use up to 20% of their Severance Indemnity Fund balance directly to pay off or settle debts.
BRL2 billion already made available
The measures were presented by Finance Minister Dario Durigan. He explained the government will tap into the Operations Guarantee Fund (FGO, in the Portuguese acronym). Once the person has begun making payments on the new debt, the government will cover any defaults.
According to Durigan, BRL2 billion ($400 million) from the FGO has already been allocated to the program, and up to BRL5 billion may be contributed through federal budget funds.
The finance minister stated that the Novo Desenrola Brasil programme will prevent participants from placing online bets.
Following the announcement, President Lula took the floor and said that debtors cannot continue to play games. “That’s why we’re banning people from spending even small amounts of their money on gambling for a year,” he said.
Bets were spared criticism
Since the beginning of the year, Lula had been criticising betting companies and claiming they were responsible for household debt. In his remarks during the launch of Novo Desenrola Brasil, the president was careful not to attack sports betting and online gambling companies. In 2025, they contributed nearly BRL10 billion to the public coffers. In the first quarter of this year, the government raised BRL3.39 billion.
Provisional Measure No 1,355
Provisional Measure No. 1,355 was published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union on Monday, which establishes the Extraordinary Program for Financial Rebalancing of Families – Novo Desenrola Brasil. The provisional measure has already been filed with Congress.
Although it takes effect immediately, the provisional measure must still be reviewed by both Houses of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) before it can become law.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/online-sports-betting/desenrola-brasil-launched-participants-banned-placing-bets/
