Latam Insights: Brazil Seeks Online Gambling Ban, Venezuela's National Stablecoin Proposal

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this edition, a draft to repeal all online gambling has been introduced in Brazil, a proposal to include stablecoins to help curb currency restrictions rises in Venezuela, and Latam surges as an investment opportunity amidst war echoes.

Key Takeaways:

• 68 PT lawmakers filed PL-1808/2026 to ban Brazil’s betting industry, establishing fines of up to $385M for offending platforms.
• Ecoanalitica proposed a USD stablecoin to bypass Venezuelan currency controls and fix future SME trade.
• Following the Middle East conflict, Latam surges as Trump’s actions make it a top investment target.

Brazil’s Ruling Party Files Bill to Ban Online Gambling Entirely as President Lula Stays Silent

Deputy Pedro Uczai (PT-SC) submitted PL-1808/2026 to the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, backed by 68 PT lawmakers. The bill calls for the full repeal of all laws governing online betting introduced under Brazil’s Bets Law, the regulatory regime that took effect on January 1, 2025.

The proposed prohibition extends across the entire gambling framework. According to the bill text, it would ban “the exploitation, operation, offering, availability, promotion, advertising, intermediation and processing of transactions related to fixed-odds betting” throughout the national territory. Penalties would include fines of up to two billion Brazilian reais (approximately $385 million) and prison sentences of two to eight years, with aggravated penalties for cases involving minors or criminal organizations. Platforms with more than one million users would be required to remove gambling promotional content.

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Economist Proposes National USD Stablecoin to Eliminate Currency Controls in Venezuela

As the Venezuelan economy faces headwinds due to currency controls and the exclusion of small and medium enterprises from the dollar assignment system, cryptocurrencies can be part of the solution.

In a recent note, Alejandro Grisanti, founder and CEO of Ecoanalitica, an economic consulting firm, highlighted the advantages of issuing a stablecoin to help correct dollar distribution issues derived from the implementation of an auction system that allows different exchange rates for the greenback.

Grisanti proposes “the implementation of a system based on stablecoins integrated into the formal financial system, subject to strict regulation and featuring AML/KYC compliance mechanisms,” in addition to the controlled import of cash to allow small and medium-sized companies without banking accounts in the U.S. to operate using dollars in the local market.

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Latam Seen as Opportunity Land by Investors Navigating War

In wartime, investors adjust their portfolios to navigate the intricacies of war and maintain their performance accordingly.

In this situation, Latam markets, which have become a sort of safe haven for investors, are rising as alternatives that, in some ways, are isolated from the energy crisis caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East due to their endogenous oil production.

Argentina and Brazil’s fiat currencies are among the few that have appreciated against the dollar since the war started, and dollar bonds from Ecuador and Colombia, which have a significant oil output, have also performed well in their class. Analysts also signal Venezuela as a future opportunity, as the Trump Administration continues to push for changes after it intervened in the country in January.

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