Brazil Bans 27 Prediction Market Platforms Including Polymarket and Kalshi

• Brazil’s National Monetary Council (CMN) and telecommunications regulator Anatel have blocked access to 27 prediction market platforms, including industry leaders Polymarket and Kalshi.
• The crackdown is based on Resolution No. 5,298, which restricts derivative contracts to economic benchmarks like inflation and interest rates, effectively banning event-based markets.
• Government officials cited the need to protect household income and reduce unregulated gambling risks as the primary drivers for the immediate ban.

Brazilian authorities have initiated a sweeping crackdown on the prediction market sector, ordering the immediate blocking of 27 platforms operating within the country. The move, spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance and enforced by the national telecommunications agency Anatel, targets prominent platforms such as Polymarket, Kalshi, and PredictIt. Officials have characterized these services as unlicensed gambling schemes disguised as financial instruments, claiming they operate outside the nation’s established legal framework.

The enforcement action follows the issuance of Resolution No. 5,298 by the National Monetary Council (CMN) on April 24. This new regulation strictly defines the scope of legal derivative contracts in Brazil, limiting them to underlying assets tied to financial and economic indicators, such as interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation indices. By explicitly excluding contracts based on non-economic events—including sports, political elections, and cultural outcomes—the government has effectively rendered the core business model of most global prediction markets illegal in the region.

Finance Minister Dario Durigan emphasized that the ban is a proactive measure to safeguard the Brazilian economy. “Brazil has established clear rules for the operation of fixed-odds bets, and there will be no room for those who try to operate on the sidelines of this system,” Durigan stated during a press conference in Brasília. He further noted that the rise of unregulated online wagering has contributed to increasing household debt levels, a trend the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is keen to reverse.

The block is particularly notable for Kalshi, which had recently sought to legitimize its presence in the country through a partnership with XP International in March 2026. Despite such efforts, the Central Bank of Brazil maintained that these platforms fail to meet the necessary KYC and transparency standards required for authorized financial trading. While crypto-native platforms like Polymarket utilize smart contracts to facilitate decentralized trading, the Brazilian government’s categorical approach treats all event-based forecasting as high-risk betting activity.

Industry experts warn that this decision may stifle market intelligence, as prediction markets are often viewed as more accurate than traditional polling for aggregating information on critical events. However, for the Ministry of Finance, the priority remains consumer protection. “This measure seeks to protect income and reduce the exposure of families to unsafe practices,” said Miriam Belchior, Chief of Staff to the President. Brazil now joins a growing list of nations, including Argentina and Colombia, that have opted for a restrictive stance on prediction markets compared to the more permissive frameworks currently emerging in the United States.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind. Readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions.