Brazil's President Lula Bans Online Gambling Ahead of Election
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a ban on online gambling, just days before an election in which he is seeking a fourth term.
Lula, who is running against the son of the incarcerated former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, signed a provisional order on Friday that "prohibits all sports betting and online casinos". The online gambling industry in Brazil was legalized in 2018 and has since been blamed for widespread household income losses due to addiction. Lula described the industry as a "cancer", stating: "Either we remove the tumor, or it kills us."
The move comes just over a week before the first round of voting in Brazil's presidential election. Recent polls have the 80-year-old leader almost neck-and-neck with Flávio Bolsonaro. The new measures must receive congressional approval within 120 days to remain in force.
Lula acknowledged online betting was created under the former President Michel Temer's administration but that it "grew without regulation under Bolsonaro's management", according to a statement on X. He highlighted the lack of restrictions, especially for preventing children and adolescents from accessing online betting. "We won't allow betting companies to profit at the expense of Brazilian families' income and lives," he added.
Separate to the online betting order, Lula also signed a bill to penalise criminal offences related to fixed-odds betting. Earlier this week, at the United Nations General Assembly, Lula accused the industry of "transforming addiction into profit."
However, Flávio Bolsonaro criticised the gambling crackdown as "populist, hypocritical and politically motivated" during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, according to Reuters.
While most types of gambling, such as casinos and slot machines, are illegal in Brazil, online betting has seen a surge in popularity since its legalisation in 2018. A recent survey by Atlas and Bloomberg found that about 59.9% of Brazilian adults support banning internet betting.