Brazil's Lula bans online gambling ahead of presidential election

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has confirmed a ban on online gambling, just days before an election in which he is seeking a fourth term as the country's leader.

Key points

• But Flávio Bolsonaro called the gambling crackdown "populist, hypocritical and politically motivated" during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, according to Reuters.
• Regarding 59.9% of Brazilian adults backing banning internet betting, a survey by Atlas and Bloomberg published this week has discovered.
• The online gambling industry in Brazil was legalised in 2018 and has since been blamed for widespread household income losses due to addiction.
• Earlier this week, at the United Nations General Assembly, Lula accused the industry of "transforming addiction into profit".
• The new measures must receive congressional approval within 120 days to remain in force.

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".

Meanwhile, the online gambling industry in Brazil was legalised in 2018 and has since been blamed for widespread household income losses due to addiction.

Lula described the industry as a "cancer" in his announcement, adding "either we remove the tumour, or it kills us".

Meanwhile, 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.

Notably, 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", in an official note on X.

He remarked that there were "no restrictions" particularly 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, " the president continued.

For context, the president described how he had heard from families who had sold everything in their houses since of their gambling addictions.

Separate to the online betting order, Lula additionally signed a bill to penalise criminal offences related to fixed-odds betting.

Most types of gambling, such as casinos and slot machines, are illegal in Brazil, but ever since online betting was legalised in 2018, it has exploded in popularity.

Taken together, the developments around brazil' s Lula bans online gambling ahead of presidential election point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.