Brazil Blocks Kalshi and Polymarket Under CMN Resolution 5,298

Brazil blocked access to prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket, describing the services as illegal under new rules issued by the National Monetary Council (CMN).

“The measure, which would affect international prediction markets, like Polymarket and Kalshi in Brazil, is part of a battle against illegal gambling by President Lula’s Administration”

Bitcoin News

Multiple outlets tie the action to a CMN resolution numbered 5,298, with Cointelegraph stating that Brazil “has blocked 27 prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket” and that the decision was announced Friday.

Bitcoin News

The Block similarly reports that “Brazil has enacted a sweeping ban on prediction markets and betting platforms,” and says a Banco Central do Brasil resolution prohibits certain derivative contracts.

Cryptopolitan frames the measure as a blanket ban on non-financial prediction market contracts, writing that “Resolution No. 5,298, issued on April 24” prohibits derivative contracts based on sports, political elections, and cultural outcomes.

Crypto Briefing adds that “Brazil has blocked access to prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket,” and says the sites were offline in Brazil “by early Friday afternoon.”

Across the reporting, the enforcement mechanism is consistent: Anatel shuts down platforms after the Ministry of Finance and CMN set the legal boundaries, with Cointelegraph saying enforcement by Anatel followed the directive from the Ministry of Finance.

The Block quotes the central bank’s resolution language, stating that “The offering and trading in the country of derivative contracts whose underlying assets are related to the following are prohibited: A real sporting event, virtual online gaming event and a real or virtual event of a political, electoral, social, cultural, entertainment, or any other nature.”

Brazil’s rules distinguish between derivative contracts tied to economic and financial benchmarks and contracts tied to non-economic events, and the ban is built around that line.

Cointelegraph says the crackdown follows “Resolution 5.298 issued by Brazil’s National Monetary Council (CMN) on Friday,” and that it “takes effect in early May and sharply limits what prediction market platforms can offer.”

Cointelegraph

Under the new rules, Cointelegraph reports that “contracts tied to sports, politics, entertainment, or social events are banned,” while “Only contracts linked to economic indicators, such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, or commodity prices, will remain allowed.”

Cryptopolitan similarly states that the NMC “prohibits derivative contracts based on non-economic events like sports, political elections, and cultural outcomes,” while allowing derivatives tied to “economic and financial benchmarks” such as “exchange rates” and “interest rates.”

Crypto Briefing describes the same permitted framework by saying the rule limits derivatives to “economic and financial benchmarks such as price indexes, interest rates and exchange rates,” and it excludes “sports, online gaming, politics, elections, cultural events and social outcomes.”

Finance Minister Dario Durigan is quoted by Cointelegraph warning that prediction markets could deepen household debt and expose users to “financial harm,” and he also argues that the government is acting while it works “to reduce debt levels among families, small businesses, and students.”

Cryptopolitan adds a direct Durigan quote that “Brazil has established clear rules for the operation of fixed-odds betting, and there will be no room for those who try to operate outside this system or create structures to circumvent the legislation.”

Brazil’s finance leadership and regulators frame the crackdown as investor protection and debt prevention, with multiple sources quoting the same officials.

“Photo: Bia Santana Brazil blocks Kalshi and Polymarket in crackdown on prediction markets The government says event contracts tied to sports, politics and cultural outcomes fall outside Brazil’s betting and derivatives rules”

Crypto Briefing

Cointelegraph reports that Finance Ministry executive secretary Dario Durigan said during a press conference at the Palácio do Planalto that Brazil had monitored the sector after “a period of anarchy because there were no rules, no oversight, from 2018 to 2022.”

In the same Cointelegraph account, Durigan is quoted saying, “At a time when we are working to reduce debt levels among families, small businesses, and students, we must also prevent new forms of harmful indebtedness,” and he adds that prediction markets could deepen household debt and expose users to financial harm.

Cryptopolitan describes the measure as a battle against illegal gambling by President Lula’s administration and says Durigan emphasized that “Brazil has established clear rules for the operation of fixed-odds betting.”

Crypto Briefing attributes the regulatory logic to the government’s view that event contracts tied to “sports, politics and cultural outcomes” fall outside Brazil’s betting and derivatives rules, and it says the Finance Ministry concluded the platforms breached betting rules approved by Congress.

Cryptopolitan also says the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) technical note considered that prediction market platforms “simply reproduce the essential elements of fixed quota bets.”

Decrypt reports that Chief of Staff Miriam Belchior said the measure aims to “protect income, prevent financial losses, and reduce families' exposure to unsafe practices.”

Several sources describe how the ban translates into access restrictions and when it takes effect, including references to offline status and the early-May implementation window.

Cointelegraph says the decision was announced Friday and that the CMN rule “takes effect in early May,” while also stating that Brazilian authorities “have moved to shut down 27 prediction market platforms.”

Decrypt

Cryptopolitan adds that Anatel was instructed to shut down the domains of affected platforms “in late April 2026, rendering them inaccessible to users within Brazil.”

Crypto Briefing reports that “The sites of Kalshi and Polymarket were offline in Brazil by early Friday afternoon,” and it ties that to Anatel shutting down 27 platforms after the government concluded they breached betting rules approved by Congress.

The Block similarly says a researcher found that “both Kalshi and Polymarket were inaccessible to one researcher at The Block based in the country,” and it notes that the central bank’s resolution was published and used as the basis for the derivatives prohibition.

FinanceFeeds states that “authorities have moved to restrict platforms offering event-based contracts tied to non-financial outcomes,” and it says a researcher confirmed Polymarket and Kalshi were “inaccessible” and that enforcement was “already active at the access level.”

Bitcoin News states that the regulation “will enter into force on May 4.”

The ban is also presented as part of a broader global regulatory tightening around prediction markets, with sources comparing Brazil’s approach to other jurisdictions and describing legal and political consequences.

“In brief - Brazil blocked access to prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket, citing investor protection concerns”

Decrypt

Cointelegraph says “A growing number of jurisdictions havemoved to banprediction markets,” and it lists “France, Belgium and the Netherlands” as having blocked or penalized platforms operating without authorization.

FinanceFeeds

Cryptopolitan states that Brazil is “the 3rd Latam nation to ban these platforms,” and it names “Argentina and Colombia” as earlier examples.

Decrypt adds that “Portugal restricted Polymarket access in January,” and it notes that “multiple U.S. states have taken action,” while also referencing “Wisconsin” filing lawsuits against “Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket, and Crypto.com.”

The Block’s account similarly situates the U.S. as more permissive, stating that “Today, the CFTC takes a permissive view of prediction markets” and that it is “currently suing several states that are looking to ban the nascent sector.”

FinanceFeeds adds a global access angle by stating Polymarket is “already blocked in more than 30 jurisdictions,” including “France, Belgium, Australia, the UK, Italy, Poland, and Singapore.”

Startup Fortune frames the ban as a warning shot for global expansion plans and claims the action reflects lobbying by licensed bookmakers, while also stating that “Polymarket processed $9.3 billion in trading volume in 2024.”