Brazil continues adjusting the regulatory framework for its sports betting industry. The Ministry of Finance published on March 23, 2026 the Ordinance SPA/MF No. 784, a technical standard that unifies tax collection codes for fixed-odds betting operators and enters into force on April 1, 2026. The measure is not an isolated change: it is part of a broader tax reform that will progressively increase the sector’s tax burden until 2028.
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What the Ordinance SPA/MF No. 784 establishes
The standard was signed on March 20, 2026 by Daniele Correa Cardoso, interim secretary of Prizes and Betting, and modifies Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1.212 of July 30, 2024. Its main objective is to establish with precision which income codes fixed-odds betting operators must use to comply with their tax obligations to the Brazilian State.
The legal basis for the measure are Law No. 13.756 of December 12, 2018 and Law No. 14.790 of December 29, 2023, the two standards that structure the sports betting regime in Brazil.
Code 9197: a number that all operators must know
The most concrete change introduced by the ordinance is the centralization of collection under tax code 9197, identified as “Contribution on Income from Lotteries and Fixed-Odds Betting”. This code unifies the allocations that until now were recorded under separate schemes, covering both contributions intended for social security and those corresponding to subsection IV-A of article 30 of Law No. 13.756.
Payments must be made exclusively through the Federal Document for Income Collection (DARF) and transferred to the Single Account of the National Treasury. Any payment made with a different code will fall outside the requirements established by the regulation, which exposes operators to accounting inconsistencies and risk of tax audits.
The underlying tax reform: from 12% to 15% by 2028
The ordinance cannot be understood in isolation. Its direct context is Complementary Law No. 224, enacted by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which structurally modified taxation on sports betting in Brazil.
The standard gradually increases the tax rate applied to operators’ gross income: from the current 12% to 15% by 2028. The increase is staggered and is intended to cover both the operating and maintenance expenses of the operating agent and contributions to the social security system.
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The distribution of collected funds was redefined as follows: 85% will be allocated to cover the operating expenses of the betting operator, 3% will go to social security with half of that percentage specifically reserved for health actions, and the remaining 12% will have specific destinations defined by legislation.
Effective date and repealed standards
Ordinance SPA/MF No. 784 enters into force on April 1, 2026. From that date, fixed-odds betting operators in Brazil must exclusively use code 9197 for their payments via DARF.
The new standard repeals Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2.219, published on September 30, 2025 in the Official Gazette of the Union, section 1, page 56. Operators still using the codes established in that ordinance must update their payment procedures before the effective date to avoid non-compliance.
Brazil’s regulatory moment
The publication of this ordinance occurs during a period of consolidation of the sports betting market in Brazil, which since the enactment of Law No. 14.790 in 2023 has advanced toward a scheme of formal licenses and more defined tax obligations. The unification of the tax code is a sign of administrative maturity: the Brazilian State not only enabled a market, but is building the fiscal infrastructure necessary to monitor it with precision.
For operators seeking a license or already operating in the country, the message is clear: tax compliance in Brazil requires attention to regulatory detail, and the rules will continue to adjust as the market grows.
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