Recommended Free Tools
Brazil’s Law No. 14.852, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on May 3, 2024, and published on May 6, 2024, creates a legal framework for the electronic-games industry. It covers games and related activities from development to commercial use, removes prior government authorization for covered development and exploitation, and sets out conditional support and child-protection provisions. It does not enact the proposed 70% tax reduction: that measure was vetoed.
What is Brazil’s new games law?
Law No. 14.852 establishes Brazil’s national framework for electronic games. Article 1 says: “Esta Lei cria o marco legal para a indústria de jogos eletrônicos” (“This Law creates the legal framework for the electronic games industry”). The statute addresses the manufacture, import, marketing, development and commercial use of covered games.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Video Game Law | $91.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Video Game Law in a Nutshell | $65.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Video Game Law | $57.56 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play | $110.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming | $69.99 | Buy on Amazon |
The law’s definition is broader than console or PC releases. Article 5 includes interactive audiovisual software whose images change in real time in response to a player’s actions, as well as dedicated devices and accessories. It also encompasses games delivered through mobile applications and web pages, and games for consoles or virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality, whether accessed by download or streaming. Betting, lottery and other products involving prizes in real or virtual assets, or outcomes based on chance or prediction, are excluded from the framework’s definition and cannot receive its benefits.
Do game developers in Brazil need government approval?
No prior state authorization is required for the development and commercial exploitation of games covered by the law. The statute also says their manufacture, import and marketing are free, subject to Brazil’s Constitution and existing law. This is not a waiver of other applicable legal requirements, nor does it remove indicative age classification.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems#1 Best Overall
The law also permits age-classified games to be used for entertainment, art, school teaching and recreation under curriculum and school rules, therapy, training and institutional simulation, and communication or advertising. It allows public authorities to develop policies for school use and a public repository of publicly funded games; these are possible policy measures, not programs the statute says are already operating.
Which developers may qualify for support under Law 14.852?
Article 8 sets eligibility conditions for special treatment; it does not promise a grant, tax benefit or automatic funding. Eligible forms can include individual businesses, companies, cooperatives, simple societies and individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs). A business must meet the applicable revenue ceiling and at least one of the law’s specified innovation criteria.
Rank #2
- Revenue: gross revenue in the preceding year must not exceed R$16,000,000. For a business active for fewer than 12 months in that year, the threshold is R$1,333,334 multiplied by the number of months of activity.
- Business criterion: the business must use an innovative business model, or be registered under the Inova Simples regime.
The law identifies game development as eligible for innovation, human-resources and cultural support. It treats development as a cultural segment for purposes of the Rouanet Law, and investment in game development as investment in research, development, innovation and culture. These provisions establish potential routes to support, not an assurance that any particular developer will receive it.
What tools does the law recognize as essential?
Article 9 lists tools used to develop games: computers running game-creation software; specialized equipment for a particular platform; game-creation software; licenses needed by multidisciplinary teams; and SDKs or DevKits. DevKits are console or equipment prototypes made by commercial console manufacturers and supplied to registered developers under signed responsibility contracts. The statute does not prescribe computer specifications or require developers to buy a particular product.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Rank #3
What protections apply to children and adolescents?
Authorities are to consider risks associated with microtransactions when assigning age classifications. For games accessed by children and adolescents, the law requires their best interests to be a design and operating parameter, with proportionate measures to reduce risks and safeguards for child-facing interactions, complaints and reporting.
In-game purchase tools must, by default, restrict children’s purchases and commercial transactions where applicable so that guardian consent is secured. The provision concerns the default operation of purchase tools; it does not make every game or transaction subject to an identical process.
Rank #4
Does Brazil’s games law give studios tax breaks?
Not the proposed 70% reduction. President Lula vetoed Article 19, which would have amended the audiovisual-sector incentive law to allow a 70% reduction in income tax on certain remittances arising from game exploitation or licensing in Brazil, conditional on investment in Brazilian independent-game production or co-production.
The official veto message cited an unestimated revenue waiver, missing compensation measures, the absence of a five-year maximum duration and missing fiscal-impact documentation for the relevant budget years. Because Article 19 was vetoed, the 70% reduction is not a benefit created by the enacted law.
Is Brazil’s electronic-game registration system open yet?
INPI’s update, published and updated August 25, 2026, says the 2024 law added a provision for electronic-game registration to Brazil’s Industrial Property Law and assigned implementation to INPI. As of that update, INPI was conducting a regulatory impact analysis and public consultation to develop criteria and procedures. The agency also reported that an interministerial working group, created by a Ministry of Culture ordinance in December 2025, was preparing a regulatory proposal for the law. Registration procedures and broader regulation were therefore still in development at that date; the update does not describe an operational registration system.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
