Politics
Brazil's Lula bans online gambling days before presidential vote
September 26, 2026 at 04:56 AM · Updated 20d ago
Coverage
3 reports · 1 in Arabic, 2 in English · over 6 hours
TGThe Guardian
Lula bans fixed-odds sports betting a week before Brazilian elections
(opens the publisher’s site)
BNBBC News
Brazil's Lula bans online gambling ahead of presidential election
(opens the publisher’s site)SNSky News Arabia
قبيل الانتخابات.. لماذا حظرت البرازيل المراهنات الرياضية؟
(opens the publisher’s site)Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed a provisional order banning online sports betting and casinos a week before the election's first round.
- Lula signed the provisional order on Friday prohibiting all sports betting and online casinos, subject to congressional approval within 120 days.
- Finance Minister Dario Durigan said deposits into betting sites are no longer possible, citing over 60 billion reais ($11 billion) moving from Brazilian families to betting firms.
- Flávio Bolsonaro said the clampdown was "populist, hypocritical and politically motivated" during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
- The order takes effect immediately, halting betting operations and advertising and giving users until 5 October to withdraw funds.
- Lula's government is drafting a bill to create criminal offences related to online betting.