Brazil’s 2026 election turns sports betting into a campaign target as states tighten ad bans

Sports betting has become a live issue in Brazil’s 2026 election campaign, with presidential and state candidates competing over who can sound toughest on the sector. For PSPs, acquirers, and operators, the key signal is simple: the regulatory conversation is moving from licensing and tax to advertising, payment flow, and, in some campaigns, outright shutdown rhetoric.

1. According to O Globo, the debate accelerated after states and municipalities began banning betting ads in public spaces. Some campaign promises now go well beyond restrictions and into talk of closing betting houses altogether.
2. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who is trailing Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) in the polls, has sharpened his attacks on sports betting. In Florianópolis on Saturday (21/9), he said: “I made a decision, if it depends on my will, I already held some meetings, I will talk to my people at Fazenda, I will talk to my people at Banco Central, but the truth is that I want to end bets.” He also linked betting to family debt and compared it to crack, while football clubs responded with a statement criticizing proposals to regulate the sector.
3. Flávio Bolsonaro’s government plan focuses on financial guidance for players and on banning the use of social-program funds for betting, although that restriction already exists in law. Other candidates have taken even harder lines: former governor Romeu Zema (Novo) appeared at official events wearing a T-shirt reading “Chega de bets”; Renan Santos (Missão) says he will “destroy” betting houses; Ronaldo Caiado (PSD) is calling for “strict regulation, inspection and zero tolerance”; and Augusto Cury (Avante), third in the polls, wants to raise sector taxation to more than 50%.
4. Sports betting was regulated in Brazil under the current Lula administration, which set the legal framework and tax rules for the industry. The Ministry of Finance later tightened advertising rules, but that did not stop Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos), then running for governor of São Paulo, from using the issue against Fernando Haddad (PT), who was Finance Minister during the regulation process. Tarcísio told Jovem Pan News: “People are in debt, spending their little money on bets, which were regulated there in the Lula government, by Haddad.”
5. At the local level, the pressure is already translating into restrictions. In July, Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Cavaliere (PSD) opened the way for a ban on betting ads in public spaces, and other cities and states followed. Eduardo Paes (PSD), who was Cavaliere’s deputy and is now running for governor of Rio state, praised the move and promised to extend the ban across the whole state if elected. In Minas Gerais, Mateus Simões’ government announced advertising limits on state-managed equipment, including the Mine…