Brazil’s Olympic Sports Face Nearly $500 Million Funding Shortfall After Betting Ban

^{Members of Brazil’s beach volleyball team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games / © Shutterstock}

Brazil’s Olympic and Paralympic sports could lose around $498.4 million in funding through the end of 2027 as a result of the betting ban, O Globo reports. The estimate was calculated by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) based on revenue from betting operators in 2025–2026 and projected income for 2027.

Before the ban, a portion of mandatory payments made by betting companies was allocated to sport. The money was distributed among the Ministry of Sport, the Olympic and Paralympic committees, sports clubs, school and university sports, and regional sports authorities.

Only part of the $498.4 million would have gone directly to the COB. In 2027, the committee expected to receive around $23.8–24.7 million from betting operators, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of its budget.

To prevent the loss of this funding from affecting preparations for the 2028 Olympics, the COB plans to cut other spending or draw on its reserve fund if necessary.

Other organizations are also expected to lose part of their funding:

• the Brazilian Paralympic Committee had expected to receive around $15.6 million in 2027;
• the Brazilian Committee of Clubs, which distributes funding among sports clubs, had expected around $9.5 million.

The estimated $498.4 million does not represent the full potential impact. Some sports federations also received direct funding linked specifically to betting on their respective sports, and these amounts were not included in the overall estimate.

The Brazilian Basketball Confederation, for example, received $2.47 million in 2025 and $1.14 million in 2026, while the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation has received around $950,000 since April 2025.

On September 25, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional measure introducing a complete ban on sports betting and online gambling in the country. Lula said the move was intended, among other things, to protect families from rising debt.