Lula’s betting-ban decree divides his campaign team in Brazil

Brazil’s election enters its final week with an internal split at the top of Lula’s campaign over how to handle online betting. The disagreement matters for payments and gambling operators because the government is preparing an immediate move against bets, not a phased transition.

1. The latest flashpoint is the MP das bets, a provisional measure that Lula is set to announce officially at 17:00 on Friday in São Paulo. The move is being presented as a campaign push in the final stretch before the first round.
2. Edinho Silva, the PT president, opposed Lula’s decision, made by Thursday night, to eliminate online betting “totally and immediately.” He argued in internal meetings that any change to bets should come through a bill sent to Congress, or, if handled by provisional measure, at least include a period before taking effect.
3. His concern was the disruption the measure could trigger over the weekend in Brazilian football, just one week before the election. In other words, this is not a theoretical policy discussion; it is a timing question with an immediate impact on a live betting market.
4. Sidônio Palmeira, Lula’s Secom chief, pushed the opposite line: a shock strategy that would end betting outright to try to win votes, especially from women. Lula sided with Sidônio’s approach.
5. The piece says the MP das bets is not the only issue dividing Edinho and Sidônio, which suggests the split is broader than this single decree.