Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the government may take more drastic action on online betting after meeting civil-society groups concerned about gambling-related debt, addiction and household losses.
The meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on 1 September brought together child-protection organisations, health research institutions and representatives from business and culture. Lula described betting as 'a bad thing for society' and said he personally favours shutting down the activity. 'I think we need to take a more radical decision,' he said. 'We tried to regulate, we tried to ban. But it's not easy to ban 60,000 illegal betting sites.'
Health minister Alexandre Padilha reported a sharp rise in treatment requests for gambling addiction through the public health system. Monthly consultations climbed from around 600 initially to 100,000 now. Women account for 55% of those seeking treatment, though men place more bets.
Between October 2024 and March 2026, Brazilian households recorded net losses of R$62.5bn from betting — the gap between stakes and prizes based on Pix transfers to operators. Over the same period, betting companies processed nearly R$351bn in Pix transactions.
Lula's stance on the regulated betting sector has hardened. In August he said online betting should stop unless the industry can prove social benefit. Betting has also surfaced in the 2026 presidential campaign, with opposition figures including Romeu Zema and Flávio Bolsonaro calling for stricter limits.
