Lula signs decree banning online betting in Brazil

Lula announced the measure in São Paulo and called online gambling “cancer”, adding: “either we remove the tumor, or it will kill us”.

In a post on X, he said betting emerged under Michel Temer’s administration and then “grew without regulation” under Jair Bolsonaro. He also said there were no restrictions to protect children and teenagers.

The president said he had heard from families who sold everything in their homes because of gambling addiction, and promised not to let betting companies profit at the expense of the income and lives of Brazilian families. Separately, he signed a bill to punish criminal offenses related to fixed-odds betting.

Earlier this week at the UN General Assembly, Lula said the industry turns addiction into profit. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, called the tougher measures populist, hypocritical, and politically motivated at a rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, while in recent polls Lula is running almost neck and neck with him.

Online betting was legalized in Brazil in 2018 and since then, according to the report, it has been linked to household income losses due to addiction. At the same time, most other forms of gambling, including casinos and slot machines, remain banned in the country.

Sources

• Source: bbc.co.uk