Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office considers action against Polymarket over election betting

Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) is considering possible measures against prediction market platform Polymarket over bets on the country’s 2026 presidential election.

According to JOTA, the AGU is seeking information from the Ministry of Finance before deciding what action may be appropriate.

The review follows a complaint concerning Polymarket’s election-related markets and comes after Brazilian authorities blocked the platform earlier this year.

No formal action against Polymarket has yet been announced. According to the report, the AGU and Anatel are in contact with the Ministry of Finance, while the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has shared material relating to the complaint with the AGU.

In April, the Ministry of Finance asked the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block 27 prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, after concluding that their products did not comply with Brazil’s betting rules.

Finance Minister executive secretary Dario Durigan said the government did not want a market for bet-like products to develop outside an established regulatory framework.

That action followed Resolution No. 5,298 of the National Monetary Council (CMN), issued on 24 April and effective from 4 May.

The resolution prohibits the offering and trading in Brazil of derivatives linked to sporting results, virtual online-game events and political, electoral, social, cultural or entertainment events, subject to an exception for underlying assets recognised as economic or financial benchmarks by the securities regulator CVM.

Brazilian authorities have argued that contracts based on non-financial events reproduce the essential characteristics of fixed-odds betting and should not be treated as conventional financial products.

The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting meanwhile has also said that no prediction-market operator has been authorised in Brazil.

Polymarket and other platforms have challenged the government’s approach. Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara said in June that the company would seek to reverse the block, arguing that prohibition could result in lost tax revenue and weaker consumer protection.

The dispute has gained added political sensitivity as Brazil’s presidential race has tightened. Recent first-round polls continue to put President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, with Datafolha showing a 39%–35% lead and Quaest a 36%–31% advantage.