TLDR
- During an International Women’s Day speech, President Lula advocated for prohibiting online gambling
- Gambling sector representatives labeled the statements “disrespectful” and cautioned about illegal operator growth
- The Lula administration legalized and regulated online betting in December 2023, with operations beginning January 2025
- Legal analysts indicate a prohibition would demand fresh legislation and widespread parliamentary backing
- The Women in Gaming organization condemned both the occasion and content of Lula’s statements
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has ignited controversy within the licensed gaming sector following his advocacy for a complete prohibition on online wagering.
The president’s statements came during a nationally broadcast speech on Sunday, March 8, commemorating International Women’s Day. Lula characterized betting addiction as a “tragedy” and emphasized that families, especially women, bear the financial consequences.
“It’s the money for food, rent and children’s school that disappears on the cell phone screen,” Lula said.
The president urged collaboration between the administration, legislature, and courts to prevent what he termed “digital casinos” from devastating households.
The statements immediately triggered pushback from gaming professionals and legal analysts, who highlighted the irony that Lula’s own administration had established the regulatory framework for online betting.
The Brazilian internet gambling sector received formal regulation through Law No. 14,790/2023, enacted under Lula’s leadership in December 2023. Licensed operations commenced January 1, 2025, incorporating safeguards for participants and a nationwide voluntary exclusion program.
Ramiro Atucha, founder and CEO of Atucha Strategic Advisory, characterized the president’s remarks to iGB as “disrespectful” toward industry investors and potentially harmful to market stability.
Atucha cautioned that prohibition would merely redirect players to unlicensed platforms. “All the problems they are listing are to do with unregulated operators, not with regulated operators,” Atucha said.
Industry Warns of Black Market Risk
Udo Seckelmann, Partner for Gambling at Bichara e Motta Advogados, suggested Lula demonstrated a “misunderstanding” of sector operations.
Seckelmann emphasized that offshore and unauthorized platforms had operated in Brazil for years prior to regulatory implementation. “Prohibition would not eliminate the market — it would simply push it back into the shadows,” Seckelmann said.
Both industry experts agreed that an outright ban remains improbable. Seckelmann explained that dismantling the existing framework would necessitate a comprehensive legislative procedure and extensive political consensus, “which currently seems unlikely.”
Atucha highlighted that eliminating tax revenue and facing potential litigation would establish a troubling precedent for future business investment in Brazil.
Women in Gaming Criticize the Timing
The Association of Women in the Gaming Industry (AMIG) expressed “surprise and concern” regarding the statements and criticized Lula’s apparent dismissal of female professionals working throughout the gambling sector.
AMIG stated that leveraging International Women’s Day to propose measures potentially damaging to women employed in the industry was “not acceptable under any circumstances.”
This represents not the first instance of Lula’s government challenging the sector it established. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad declared in July of the previous year that he would support prohibition if legislation were introduced.
The administration also pursued increasing the operator levy from 12% to 18% to address fiscal shortfalls, though this initiative was unsuccessful. A more modest incremental tax adjustment passed in late 2025, with rates scheduled to reach 15% by 2028.
The gaming oversight body, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, operates under Haddad’s Finance Ministry jurisdiction.
