Brazil: Lula and Bolsonaro call for online betting ban ahead of presidential election
Both of Brazil’s next presidential candidates are calling to ban online gaming, ahead of the election on 4 October.
Current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) and his main opposition in the upcoming election, Flávio Bolsonaro (Bolsonaro), have outlined plans to ban the sector in the country, citing a growing number of negative views by Brazilians.
According to Reuters, sources confirmed that the current government is preparing an executive order that will ban online casinos, with Lula set to sign off on the legislation before the October general election.
Additionally, Lula has also been very outspoken against online gambling, criticizing the betting sector during his rallies and during a United Nations speech this week, saying that he would put an end to bookmakers’ operations in the country, arguing that they only encourage negative behaviors, including addiction and financial harm.
Separately, Bolsonaro has mirrored Lula’s approach, calling for a ban on online casinos on Wednesday. “When you bet on real sporting events — a soccer match, a volleyball match, a tennis match — there is some degree of oversight,” he commented during a livestream. “Online casinos have to go,” he opined.
According to Bloomberg, online casinos currently make up between 70% and 80% of licensed operators’ revenue in the country. A poll commissioned by Bloomberg by AtlasIntel also found that 75% of Brazilian voters supported a ban on online betting in the country, with only 17% disagreeing.
Figures published by Brazil’s Finance Ministry found that 25 million Brazilians placed wagers throughout 2025, with Bolsonaro taking this statistic to hit back at Lula, claiming that the president has failed at reining in the expansion of betting through both illegal and legal channels.
The Atlas poll also found that 36% of respondents blamed Lula for the spread of online gambling, with 25% instead blaming the former president, and Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro.
So far, both candidates remain tied in simulated projections for next week’s election, with the poll also simulating 47.7% in support for Lula and 47.4% for Bolsonaro.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
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The Backstory
A regulated market turns into an election liability
Brazil’s online betting market was built to bring a fast-growing offshore business into the tax system. Less than two years after the country created a legal framework for sports betting and online gaming, the sector has instead become a defining political risk in a presidential race where both leading candidates are trying to distance themselves from its social costs.
The current dispute follows Brazil’s 2023 legislation that set licensing requirements, regulatory oversight and consumer protection rules under the Finance Ministry. The regulated market launched in 2025, giving operators legal access to one of Latin America’s largest consumer bases. That framework covered sports betting and online casino-style products, a combination that made commercial sense for operators but has complicated the politics of any rollback.
The issue has moved quickly from regulatory debate to campaign weapon. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has framed online gambling as a household economic threat, saying families are losing money needed for food, rent and school expenses. His position hardened in recent weeks, after he had already proposed a ban on online casinos to combat addiction. Flávio Bolsonaro, his main challenger, has adopted a similar line, arguing that casino-style digital products should be removed even if sports betting remains subject to oversight.
Why online casinos became the flashpoint
The political focus on online casinos reflects the economics of Brazil’s regulated gambling market. Sports betting is the public-facing product tied to soccer clubs, media advertising and event sponsorships. Online casino games, however, appear to generate most of the money. Reports cited by the industry and policymakers have put online casinos at roughly three-quarters of operator revenue, making them central to the business model of licensed companies.
That imbalance helps explain why a targeted ban would be more disruptive than it may appear. Brazil’s government has reportedly been preparing an executive order that would ban online casino operations while excluding sports betting. But operators generally hold licenses that cover both verticals, and many use casino revenue to support wider customer acquisition, marketing and technology costs. A ban that preserves sports betting but removes casino products would leave the legal market intact on paper while removing much of its profitability.
The potential scale of disruption was clear in earlier reports that Brazil was preparing to ban online casinos. Those reports noted 188 authorized operators with joint online casino and sports betting licenses, along with warnings from Brazil’s National Association of Gaming and Lotteries that curtailing activities already permitted under license terms could lead to compensation claims. The government also has fiscal exposure: Treasury data cited in those reports showed Brazil collected almost 10 billion reais in licensing fees and taxes from the gambling sector in 2025.
Public concern outpaces the industry’s defenses
The industry’s challenge is that economic arguments are being outweighed by voter anxiety. Brazil’s Finance Ministry has said 25 million Brazilians placed wagers in 2025, a figure now being used by Bolsonaro to argue that Lula failed to contain the sector’s growth. Other estimates have put annual betting expenditure at as much as 60 billion reais, giving opponents a simple narrative: a market created for regulation and tax collection has become too large, too quickly.
That perception is not unique to Brazil. In the U.S., a recent Overton Insights survey found more registered voters opposed legal sports wagering than supported it, despite the rapid expansion of state-regulated betting since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that opened the door to legalization. The poll, which found sports betting supporters in the minority, showed 47% of respondents opposed legalization while 31% supported it. Opposition cut across party lines, suggesting gambling policy can become a cross-ideological concern once addiction, household debt and advertising saturation enter the debate.
Brazil’s political environment is more volatile because the market is newer and the presidential race is tight. The AtlasIntel polling cited in the current article found broad support for a ban on online betting and showed voters divided over who deserves blame for the spread of gambling. That dynamic gives both Lula and Bolsonaro an incentive to take aggressive positions. Lula can present himself as correcting an emerging social problem, while Bolsonaro can portray the government as having lost control of both legal and illegal betting channels.
Regulatory reversal carries legal and fiscal risks
A ban would not simply close illegal operators. It would reshape a licensed sector that has already paid fees, built local partnerships and hired staff based on rules adopted by Congress and implemented by the Finance Ministry. That creates legal questions over whether companies could seek compensation if the state revokes or materially weakens rights granted under existing licenses.
The fiscal stakes are also significant. Brazil entered regulation partly to capture tax revenue from gambling activity that was already taking place. If casino-style games are prohibited, some demand may move back to offshore sites, reducing government receipts while weakening consumer protections. Authorities have already discussed financial blocking of offshore operators and transparency rules for sector data, but enforcement in digital gambling markets is difficult, particularly when consumers can migrate quickly to unlicensed platforms.
The government also has a broader regulatory agenda for 2026 and 2027, including rules that would allow technology providers to enter the betting market. Those plans now sit uneasily beside the proposed prohibition. A policy shift that narrows the legal market could deter investment and complicate efforts to professionalize the sector’s infrastructure, data reporting and compliance systems.
Latin America’s growth story meets political resistance
Brazil has been one of the most important growth markets for global igaming companies because of its population, soccer culture and rapid adoption of digital payments. That opportunity has drawn operators, suppliers and technology firms seeking local footholds. But the speed of expansion has also exposed weaknesses common in emerging markets, including uneven regulatory capacity, pressure on consumer safeguards and a shortage of specialized local talent.
Industry executives have warned that Latin America faces particular challenges in building sustainable igaming operations. In an interview on EvenBet Gaming’s view of recruitment challenges, company leaders said the region often lacks enough educational infrastructure to produce specialized gaming professionals at the pace required by market growth. They also said companies entering Brazil need to adapt to local values, including social responsibility and community engagement, rather than relying only on salary competition or imported operating models.
That point has become more than an employment issue. As gambling becomes a national political concern, operators’ ability to show local responsibility may affect their license to operate in a broader sense. Advertising restraint, responsible gambling tools, data transparency and credible funding for addiction treatment could influence whether policymakers see the industry as capable of reform or as a sector requiring prohibition.
A global industry faces a tougher political cycle
The Brazilian debate is part of a wider recalibration for online betting companies. In some jurisdictions, operators are still spending heavily to secure favorable political outcomes. In the U.S., a DraftKings- and FanDuel-backed political action committee became a major force in Alabama’s Republican primaries, as detailed in coverage of PAC victories tied to sports betting expansion. The spending underscored the industry’s belief that state-level politics can determine billions of dollars in future revenue.
Brazil shows the other side of that equation. Once gambling becomes associated with household distress, political incentives can turn sharply against operators. The same market size that attracted investment now raises the visibility of addiction claims, consumer losses and advertising backlash. For Lula and Bolsonaro, calling for a ban is not just a moral position; it is an electoral calculation in a country where polling suggests voters are ready for a crackdown.
The outcome will determine whether Brazil remains a regulated online gambling market with tighter controls or becomes a warning to operators about the fragility of newly legalized sectors. If online casinos are banned while sports betting survives, companies will have to reassess revenue forecasts, license values and legal strategies. If the ban broadens or enforcement proves uneven, Brazil could push activity back into the gray market it tried to replace. Either way, the campaign has already changed the terms of the debate: regulation is no longer being judged mainly by tax receipts, but by whether voters believe the state can protect households from the products it legalized.
