President Lula Ramps Up Attacks on Brazil Betting Operators as Social and Fiscal Tensions Mount

President Lula has stepped up criticism of online betting companies in Brazil, reinforcing claims that gambling has become a social problem. He has linked the activity to indebtedness and the erosion of labour conditions, repeatedly describing betting companies as a “scourge of lies” with particular impact on young people and low-income workers. Lula has stated that were it up to him, he would put an end to them, characterising sports betting as a financial trap for workers.

In podcast interviews the president declared: “If no one can show me a social justification for these betting platforms to continue, we have to put an end to them.” He acknowledged awareness of the “betting lobby” in Congress while insisting the issue must be confronted. “I know there’s a gambling lobby in Congress,” he said. “But it is a fight we will have to take on, because society cannot be destabilised by something we can control.”

Clashes in Congress and Revenue Pressures

According to reporting by iGaming Business, government coffers were bolstered by gambling to the tune of nearly BRL7.3 billion in the first half of 2026. In 2025 Brazil collected nearly BRL10 billion from the activity, excluding concession and regulatory fees. Finance Minister Dario Durigan has highlighted that more than five million Brazilians are already barred from betting. Lula’s rhetoric ties into advocacy for formal employment and criticism of economic models that exploit financial vulnerability. The president said the government is addressing the issue with the ministries of finance, planning and justice to evaluate mitigating measures.

The Persistent Illegal Market

Lula’s stance runs against the reality that banning licensed betting would not eliminate the activity but drive it into the illegal market. That segment accounts for between 38% and 44% of the total, according to a study by LCA and Instituto Locomotiva. Bernardo Freire, legal counsel for the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), stated that banning betting websites will strengthen the illegal market and amounts to “complicity with crime.” Freire added: “If 40% of the population is already in this market today, the ban will drive the 60% who bet on licensed platforms to the illegal ones.”

Reporting: iGaming Business (iGB)

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