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Brazil Blocks Kalshi and Polymarket in Broad Ban Citing Investor Protection

Brazilian authorities blocked 27 prediction market platforms under CMN Resolution No. 5,298, which takes effect in early May and bans contracts tied to sports, politics, entertainment, and social events while allowing economic-indicator products.

Fact Check
The core of the claim is well supported by Yahoo Finance's Reuters report, which says Brazil blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi and that a central-bank-linked resolution banned derivatives tied to sports, political, electoral, social, cultural, and entertainment events. InfoMoney independently reports that the CMN prohibited politics, sports, and other themes in prediction markets in Brazil, consistent with the categories in the claim. CartaCapital further corroborates that Brazil blocked 27 prediction-market platforms as part of a broader crackdown. The main limitation is that I was unable to retrieve the underlying Banco Central/CMN primary-resolution page from bcb.gov.br during this run, so I cannot directly verify the exact wording 'investor protection' from the official text. Still, the combined secondary evidence strongly supports the substance of the claim.
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Summary

Brazilian authorities moved to block 27 prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, under CMN Resolution No. 5,298. The measure takes effect in early May and bans contracts tied to sports, politics, entertainment, and social events, while allowing only contracts linked to economic indicators under financial market regulation. The update reinforces the regulatory basis for Brazil’s action and further clarifies the distinction between prohibited event contracts and permitted economic-reference products.

Terms & Concepts
  • Polymarket: A blockchain-based prediction market that uses crypto-related infrastructure to let users take positions on event outcomes.
  • Kalshi: A prediction-market platform that offers event-based contracts tied to the outcomes of real-world developments.