Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has enacted a prohibition on online gambling just days before an election where he is vying for a fourth term.
The left-wing leader, who is campaigning against the son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, signed a provisional measure on Friday that “prohibits all sports betting and online casinos”.
The online gambling industry in Brazil, which was legalized in 2018, has since been criticized for causing widespread household income losses due to addiction.
Flávio Bolsonaro accused his rival of engaging in political maneuvering, while Brazilian football clubs warned that the ban could result in lost revenue if betting firms withdraw their sponsorships.
Lula characterized the industry as a “cancer” in his announcement, stating that “either we remove the tumour, or it kills us”.
The action comes just over a week before the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, with recent polls showing the 80-year-old leader nearly tied with the younger Bolsonaro.
Lula also separately signed legislation to establish criminal offenses related to fixed-odds betting, the most prevalent form of online sports wagering.
Gamblers and bookmakers will have until October 5 to withdraw any existing funds from online betting accounts, while new deposits have been prohibited.
The new measures must receive congressional approval within 120 days to remain in effect.
Lula acknowledged that online betting was permitted under former President Michel Temer’s administration but stated it had grown “without regulation under Bolsonaro’s management”.
He stated in a post on X that there were “no restrictions” specifically preventing children and teenagers from accessing online betting.
“We will not allow betting companies to profit at the expense of Brazilian families’ income and lives,” the president added.
Lula described hearing from families who had sold everything they owned due to gambling addictions.
Earlier this week at the UN General Assembly, Lula accused the industry of “transforming addiction into profit”.
However, Flávio Bolsonaro called the gambling crackdown “populist, hypocritical and politically motivated” during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, according to Reuters.
Grêmio, one of Brazil’s so-called “big twelve” football teams, noted ahead of Lula’s announcement that sports betting firms had become “one of the main sources of revenue for sports” since their legalization.
The club stated that a change in the law “will not only open the door to illegal betting, but deal a fatal blow to Brazilian football, driving many clubs toward insolvency”.
The major clubs were paid 1.1 billion Brazilian reais ($212 million; £160 million) by sports betting firms in 2025, while the industry generated 62.5 billion reais during the same period, according to broadcaster Globo.
Most types of gambling, such as casinos and slot machines, remain illegal in Brazil, but since online betting was legalized in 2018, its popularity has surged.
Approximately 59.9% of Brazilian adults support banning internet betting, according to a survey published this week by Atlas and Bloomberg.
The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), a trade body representing around 75% of the domestic betting sector, stated that a total ban on fixed-odds betting jeopardizes the industry as a whole – and potentially 58 to 73 billion reais in revenue.
“The ban also does not eliminate existing demand,” the institute stated, adding that anyone turning to illicit betting would no longer have “access to protection mechanisms provided in the regulated environment”.
It urged the federal government to strengthen betting regulations rather than outlaw online and fixed-odds betting completely.
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