Brazilian Federal Deputy Ana Paula Lima (Workers’ Party) has introduced Bill 4,761/2026, which proposes a new fee on companies authorized to operate fixed-odds betting in Brazil. The revenue would finance mental health initiatives within the country’s public healthcare system, SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde).
The proposal creates the Health Inspection Fee on Fixed-Odds Betting (TFS-Apistas). This levy would apply monthly to operators’ gross revenue, starting at 2% percentage. The bill allows the Executive Branch to periodically adjust the rate based on technical reports from SUS, with a floor of1% and a ceiling of 6%.
How the new fee would work
According to the bill text, funds collected through TFS-Apostas would be transferred to the National Health Fund (FNS) and allocated to a specific subaccount dedicated to addressing gambling disorder. The money would be used exclusively for measures related to problem gambling, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
Additionally, the funds could finance epidemiological surveillance actions, public awareness campaigns, and training for health professionals to identify and treat compulsive gambling behavior associated sports betting. The initiative establishes a dedicated funding source to expand the public system’scapacity to handle growing demand for problem gambling care.
The health context behind the measure
The bill comes amid a sustained increase in demand for care related to pathological gambling and compulsive betting in Brazil. According to data from the Ministry of Health cited in the initiative, SUS recorded10,553 consultations linked to these conditions between January2018 and May2025 – a 104% increase over that period.
In March2026, the Ministry of Health also launched a free telehealth service for people facing gambling problems. The service is available via the Meu SUS Digital app and began with approximately600 monthly consultations.
For Deputy Lima, this scenario justifies greater contribution from betting companies to financing health policies linked to their own activity. “If betting can cause addiction, the companies that profit from this activity should also help pay for the treatment,” she stated in the bill’s justification.
Criticism of current revenue allocation
Lima also considers insufficient the share of resources that currently goes to health from the gambling sector. According to the bill’s justification, health currently receives only1% of the portion –12% of gross revenue – that does not belong to operators. For Lima, that share would not be enough to cover the costs of treating people affected by problem gambling.
The new fee aims to create a more direct link between the regulated activity and the financing of health policies related to its potential impacts, without relying on the general distribution of sector revenues.
New obligations for operators
Beyond creating the fee, the bill imposes new obligations on authorized operators. Companies would have to deliver annually to the Ministry of Health aggregated and anonymized data on bettors identified as belonging to highrisk groups for developing addiction. The goal is to improve the state’scapacity to measure and monitor the phenomenon while protecting users’identity.
The text also proposes including gambling disorder among conditions subject to mandatory notification, aiming to strengthen epidemiological surveillance. Failure to comply with these obligations could trigger sanctions under Law14,790/2023, plus potential administrative, civil and criminal liabilities.
Implementation timeline
If approved, the bill states the law would take effect on the date of its publication, but the financial effects of the new fee would begin in the following fiscal year and must respect the minimum90-days waiting period required by the Brazilian Constitution.
If it advances, the initiative would add a new component to Brazil’s betting regulatory framework: a fee specifically linked to funding prevention and care policies for problem gambling, along with new information and surveillance obligations for operators.
Key facts at a glance
| Aspect | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bill number | PL4,761/2026 | Chamber of Deputies of Brazil |
| Author | Deputy Ana Paula Lima (PT) | Focus Gaming News Latinoamérica |
| Tax proposed | TFS-Apistas, initial2%, up to6% | Bill text |
| Use of funds | Prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation within SUS | Bill text |
| Reported consultations | 10,553 (2018-2025), +104% | Ministry of Health of Brazil |
| New operator duties | Annual anonymized data on highrisk bettors | Bill text |
What remains to be confirmed
The bill is in early stages of legislative processing in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies. No vote date or committee assignments have been set yet. There are no official positions from the Brazilian government or from betting operator associations on the proposal. The real impact on the health system will depend both on the bill’s passage and on the evolution of betting sector revenues in Brazil.
For Chilean readers, this project represents a regulatory model that local authorities may watch closely, given the growth of the online betting industry in Chile and the pending debates on its regulation and treatment of problem gambling.
Source: Focus Gaming News Latinoamérica – https://focusgn.com/latinoamerica/nuevo-proyecto-de-ley-en-brasil-para-que-las-empresas-de-apuestas-financien-iniciativas-de-salud-mental-dentro-del-sistema-publico-de-salud