Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sharpened his criticism of the country’s online betting industry, placing gambling increasingly at the centre of his social and economic messaging as he campaigns for re-election.
Lula has repeatedly argued that betting platforms can worsen financial pressure on households, particularly among young people and lower-income workers. He has also linked the rapid expansion of online gambling with broader concerns about personal debt and insecure employment, while indicating that he would favour much stronger restrictions on the sector.
His position comes despite Brazil having moved only recently to establish a fully regulated national market. The federal licensing system took effect on 1 January 2025 under legislation requiring authorised operators to meet taxation, compliance and player-protection standards. The Ministry of Finance currently maintains an official register of licensed companies and brands permitted to operate fixed-odds betting in the country.
Political pressure builds around betting
Lula has suggested that any attempt to substantially reduce or eliminate legal betting would face resistance in Congress, where the industry has developed significant commercial and political interests.
The issue has become increasingly prominent in his wider campaign message about protecting household incomes and formal employment. Lula officially launched his 2026 re-election campaign in August, with economic security and worker protection among the themes expected to shape the contest.
At the same time, the government itself continues to regulate rather than dismantle the industry. In July, federal authorities tightened advertising requirements, including mandatory gambling-risk warnings and stronger protections against marketing aimed at children and adolescents.
More than five million people are currently prevented from gambling through Brazil’s regulated system, according to figures cited by Finance Minister Dario Durigan. The group includes roughly three million social-programme beneficiaries, around 1.2 million people who requested self-exclusion and approximately 800,000 participants in the Desenrola debt-renegotiation programme.
Betting has become a major source of tax revenue
Any move against the regulated market would also carry significant fiscal consequences.
Brazil collected approximately BRL7.28 billion in betting-related taxes during the first half of 2026, up 83% from the comparable period a year earlier. Revenue from the sector reached BRL9.95 billion during the whole of 2025.
The regulated industry has therefore become both a social-policy challenge and a growing source of government income, complicating calls for more radical restrictions.
Authorities are simultaneously increasing enforcement against operators working outside the licensing framework. In August, Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service took part in operations targeting suspected illegal betting networks and alleged tax evasion, money laundering and unauthorised gambling activity.
Illegal market remains a major obstacle
Industry representatives argue that closing licensed betting sites would not eliminate demand and could instead send more players towards unregulated platforms.
Research commissioned by the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming and conducted by LCA Consultores using Instituto Locomotiva data estimated that illegal operators accounted for between 38% and 44% of Brazil’s online betting market during the first half of 2026. That was down from an estimated 41% to 51% in the previous study, but still represents a substantial share of gambling activity.
The findings underline the policy dilemma facing Lula’s government. Brazil is attempting to reduce gambling-related harm while collecting billions of reais from licensed operators and combating a large offshore market that remains beyond many of the safeguards imposed on regulated companies.
As the October election approaches, betting is likely to remain politically sensitive, with Lula’s increasingly hostile rhetoric running alongside an established regulatory system that his own administration continues to enforce and expand.