In December 2024, the Brazilian Senate finally passed its gambling regulations for sports betting and online casinos. What took so long? Until this week, there had been no enforceable or documented Brazilian gambling regulations due to a blanket ban on gambling in the country since the 1940s.

Casinos have been considered illegal in Brazil and considered a criminal misdemeanour since 1946, by a decree signed by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who would have been influenced by his wife Carmela Teles Dutra, who was known for her strong religiosity to Catholic Church.