Lula Delays Decision on Sports Betting in Brazil After Consultations With Civil Society

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he will decide the future of sports betting in the country only after reviewing consultations with civil society groups, and he did not say which way he is leaning. For PSPs and operators in Brazil, that means the policy question is still open, with the political risk sitting squarely on the table.

1. In an interview with SBT Brasil aired on Thursday (10/9), Lula said he had already listened to civil society entities, mapped and systematized their views, and would base his next step on that material. “Now, I will make a decision based on what I saw,” he said.
2. The interview was presented by journalists Basília Rodrigues and Marina Demori live from the Palácio da Alvorada, ran from 20:00 to 20:30, and was replayed afterward on SBT News. Lula refused to preview the outcome: “Don’t ask me what the decision is, because I won’t tell you.”
3. Lula described a polarized debate around betting — “close the bets, open the bets, punish someone” — and said he had brought together different groups before taking a position. He said he heard from people critical of betting platforms, as well as people who had dealt with family debt and even suicides linked to betting.
4. The president said he heard about 10 or 11 people in this round of consultations. He also said he is not making the decision alone: “I am not president of myself, I am president of 215 million inhabitants.”
5. This was not the first time he raised the issue. At a meeting on 1 September at the Palácio do Planalto with civil society entities, Lula said he personally favored banning betting in Brazil and argued that a more drastic decision was needed.

He also pushed back on the idea that taxation can be used as the main control tool for betting. His argument was straightforward: tax only works as a deterrent when it cuts into profits, and in his view that is not what is happening with bets. He added that many of these companies do not have headquarters in Brazil and do not pay taxes to the Brazilian treasury, which makes taxation even less effective as a policy lever.