Brazil's Lula Bans Betting Platforms Days Before Tight Election

Brazil's government has moved to shut down fixed-odds betting nationwide, signing an order that bans the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of such platforms just nine days before the first round of the presidential election. On Monday, authorities said they had taken down 506 websites that were allegedly still offering the service.

The measure, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, must be approved by Congress within 120 days to remain in force, and it must also survive scrutiny from the courts. Betting companies are preparing to challenge it both collectively and individually.

For 38-year-old Leandro Valdivia, a healthcare professional who now counsels online gamblers, the crackdown arrived after heavy personal cost. He began betting during the 2022 World Cup, wagering around 100 reais (about $20) per game and initially turning a profit. Within two years his stakes had climbed to 10,000 reais (roughly $2,000) each, and he was losing steadily. He lied to his partner about the losses, gave up a small media company and drifted from friends. After his divorce, relatives installed software on his phone and computer to block betting sites. He has been in recovery since last year but still carries debts of 30,000 reais (about $5,700).

"This is an addiction that doesn't give you bad breath. You don't talk funny, you don't smell. Nobody finds it strange if you stay on your phone all day," Valdivia said in a phone interview. He plans to vote for Lula, though he worries a judge could strike the ban down. "It is hard for our judges and for congress to keep this in place. But maybe this ban stays long enough for us to feel the impact in the economy and in people's mental health."

Brazil hosts one of the world's largest online betting markets. An institute representing most platforms operating in the country says revenues exceeded $4 billion in 2025, while the central bank estimates monthly spending on bets at about 30 billion reais ($5.7 billion). That figure includes outlays by beneficiaries of the federal cash-transfer program Bolsa Família, who were blocked from the platforms last year. A study by the University of São Paulo in August estimated that roughly 2 million Brazilians are addicted to such platforms.

Political analyst Creomar de Souza, of the Brasília-based consultancy Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, said Lula clearly chose an electoral moment for the move, noting that many polls show more than 70% of Brazilians favor banning betting platforms. "The ban doesn't hurt Lula at all, we need some more time to see whether it does help him in the election as voters digest," de Souza said, adding that Lula himself had pushed for regulation of betting companies only two years ago. "If Congress tosses this order, it doesn't hurt Lula either. He can take some advantage and make pressure, cast himself as an anti-system candidate in an election that should be close."

A government staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said Lula had considered a partial ban but changed course after top-division soccer clubs warned in a joint statement last week that removing the platforms would mean the end of "futebol," the country's biggest passion. All 20 clubs in Brazil's Serie A are sponsored by sports betting platforms.

Few public figures have openly opposed the ban, given the evident hazards betting poses to the economy and mental health. Even presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro has avoided criticizing its merits.

Matheus Puppe, an expert in Brazilian digital law, expects the order to be struck down soon, citing the abruptness of a total ban without a transition period, the failure to return license fees paid by platforms and the lack of provisions for affected workers. "It was abrupt, the government did not return the license fee paid by the platforms, it did not care for the workers of those companies," Puppe said. "There are many grounds to question this." He added, however, that it would be difficult for any judge to act before Sunday.

Puppe also warned that banning legal platforms "will only make people look for the illegal ones." Still, the measure makes it much harder for less tech-savvy users to keep betting, sharply reducing the market's reach.

Valdivia, who supports the ban, said few addicts stop without help from family and friends. He recalled a moment in Buenos Aires when his then-partner saw an advertisement about the risks of online betting while they were cycling, hopped off her bike and hugged him. "I am recovering. But I could be speaking to you with my partner still with me, we'd have a child by now, and I would have spent that money in a house for us by the beach," he said. "That I will never recover."