AtlasIntel poll says 36% blame Lula government for Brazil’s betting boom

A new AtlasIntel survey of 5,015 voters shows that Brazil’s online betting market is now as much a political problem as a commercial one. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks touching this space, the useful signal is simple: public opinion is sharply negative, and support for tighter controls is already broad.

1. AtlasIntel, in a poll published by VEJA on Wednesday, September 23, found that 36% of Brazilians blame the Lula government for the growth of betting sites in the country. The survey was conducted between September 17 and 22, covered 5,015 voters across Brazil, and carries a margin of error of one percentage point at a 95% confidence level. It was registered with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) under number BR-04739/2026.
2. On responsibility for the expansion of online betting, the Lula government leads the list with 36%, followed by the Bolsonaro government at 25.4% and the National Congress at 16.5%. The remaining answers were: 15.0% “don’t know,” 6.4% “none,” and 0.7% STF.
3. The legal timeline matters here. Bets were authorized and legalized in Brazil at the end of the Michel Temer administration in 2018, with a deadline of up to four years for operating rules to be regulated. That regulation did not happen. The lack of oversight continued under the Bolsonaro government, and the Lula III government later signed the law, at the end of 2023, that structured taxation, operating rules, and regulation for the sector, including tax payments on its activities.
4. The perception of harm is overwhelmingly negative. Asked whether betting platforms bring more benefits or losses, respondents answered: 59.9% “only losses,” 28.6% “more losses,” 5.7% “both equally,” 0.7% “only benefits,” 0.2% “more benefits,” and 4.9% “don’t know.”
5. Support for restrictions is high: 84% favor higher taxes on betting companies, 79% support limits on advertising, and 75% back a ban on bets in Brazil. The poll also says 66% believe minors under 18 have easy access to the platforms, and 88% say betting cannot be seen as a way to supplement income. The editor’s note in the source says the 66% figure refers to illegal sites, because regulated platforms prohibit minors through KYC (know your customer) controls.

The Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) questioned the poll’s conclusions. For high-risk operators, that matters less as a PR dispute than as a reminder that Brazil’s betting market now sits inside a broader fight over tax pressure, advertising limits, and whether the sector gets treated as a regulated payments vertical or as a target for further restriction.