President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed a provisional executive order placing an immediate ban on fixed-odds sports betting across Brazil. Coming just over a week before the presidential election, the measure aims to address the widespread issue of families falling into debt due to online gambling platforms. The executive order mandates an immediate halt to all betting operations, advertising, and user intermediation.
While the regulation is now in effect, it requires congressional approval within the next 120 days to remain permanent. Under the new rules, users are prohibited from making new deposits and have until October 5 to withdraw any existing funds from their betting accounts. Furthermore, the government has drafted legislation to classify activities like the promotion of these platforms or the unauthorized use of personal data for solicitation as criminal offenses.
Explaining the rationale behind the sudden crackdown during an address in São Paulo, the president described the industry as a malignancy, stating, “I made the decision to take a hard, drastic and necessary measure. It’s like cancer, you take out the tumour, or the tumour will kill us.” This stance reflects comments he made recently at the UN General Assembly, where he accused the industry of transforming human addiction into profit and systematically destroying households.
The impact of this sector is significant; a 2025 study by the Institute of Studies for Health Policies estimated that gambling costs Brazilian society roughly 38.8 billion reais annually, while also contributing to rising rates of depression and suicide. Central bank data from last year indicated that Brazilians were spending approximately 30 billion reais monthly on such platforms, a figure that previously included recipients of the Bolsa Familia welfare program. It was part of a national push to regulate the sector.
Politically, the move has drawn sharp criticism from Flávio Bolsonaro, the president’s primary opponent, who labeled the ban an “electoral measure.” While gambling has been technically illegal in Brazil for decades, the sector saw a surge in accessibility following legislation passed in 2018 during Michel Temer’s presidency, and it continued to expand under Jair Bolsonaro.
Since taking office, the current administration has attempted to exert control over the chaotic market. In December 2023, legislation was signed to regulate and tax betting entities for the first time. Authorities have since shuttered over 2,000 irregular websites, some of which were identified as having ties to criminal groups, including the Red Command in Rio de Janeiro and the First Capital Command in São Paulo.
The economic stakes are high, with analysts noting that Brazil represents one of the largest betting markets globally, generating over $4 billion in annual revenue. The sudden prohibition has caused alarm among major football clubs, who were reportedly warned by sponsors that their support would cease if the government moved against the industry. Though some critics claimed the ban could threaten the future of Brazilian football, the suggestion has been met with widespread mockery on social media in a country where the sport remains a central cultural pillar. One of the betting models banned on Friday, are estimated at more than $4bn (£3bn) per year in Brazil, one of the biggest markets in the world, business analysts say that revenues for sports betting.
