World
Flávio Bolsonaro questioned the ban on online betting announced by Lula
The PL candidate accused the president of acting with electoral opportunism after the measure banning bets in Brazil. The government also sent Congress a bill to punish with prison those who exploit, operate or promote those platforms.
Flávio Bolsonaro criticized Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision to ban online betting in Brazil just days before the presidential election. According to G1 Globo, the PL candidate described the measure as an opportunistic maneuver and said in a campaign video that it amounts to an “electoral scam” and a “false solution.”
According to that outlet, Bolsonaro took aim especially at the use of a provisional measure, which takes effect immediately but must be approved by Congress within a period of up to 120 days or lose validity. In that sense, he said that if the initiative expires after the election, the platforms could return to operating.
Lula announced this Friday in São Paulo the total ban on online betting. The restriction also covers digital games and virtual casinos, including the so-called “Jogo do Tigrinho,” according to G1 Globo. In addition, the president sent Congress a bill that предусматриes prison sentences for those who exploit, operate or promote the so-called bets.
In his criticism, Flávio Bolsonaro said the government first used the revenue generated by that market and only now decided to move against the activity. He also said that, if elected, he will not allow “online casino” or “Tigrinho” during his term.
G1 Globo reviewed that sports betting was legalized in 2018, at the end of Michel Temer’s government, although regulation was not completed within the expected deadlines. During Jair Bolsonaro’s administration there were public consultations and talk of an advanced decree, but that text was never published. Only at the end of 2023, already in Lula’s third term, was the law regulating the operation of bets, their taxation and the destination of the resources obtained enacted.
According to that outlet, in 2024 the Ministry of Finance issued nearly 20 regulations to implement the regulatory framework. It also recalled that a technical note from the Central Bank indicated that Brazilians spent close to R$ 20,000 million per month on online betting during the first eight months of 2024, with some 24 million individuals making at least one transfer via PIX in the period analyzed.
That same document, G1 Globo added, also detected the use of social program funds for betting. Following an order from Justice Luiz Fux later upheld unanimously by the Supreme Federal Court, the government moved last year to prevent beneficiaries of those programs from accessing the authorized platforms. Currently, more than 3.5 million people are covered by that restriction.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
