Brazil's Finance Minister Dario Durigan said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would have preferred to ban online betting outright. But the government accepts that after years of unregulated growth, prohibition would only push players to unlicensed operators.
Durigan told Rádio Metrópole that 6.2 million Brazilians are now blocked from regulated betting platforms. Of those, 5 million were barred by force — recipients of Bolsa Família and BPC welfare payments, plus participants in the Desenrola debt-restructuring programme. Another 1.2 million requested self-exclusion through the gov.br system launched by the Finance Ministry in late 2025. The blocks apply across all licensed sites and apps.
The minister blamed previous administrations for inaction. Online betting was legalised in 2018 under Michel Temer, but full regulation came only in 2023 under Lula. In the intervening years operators embedded themselves in football, on TV and radio, and in Congress, making a return to prohibition unrealistic.
Durigan proposed treating betting like tobacco: high taxes and tighter restrictions should reduce consumption without driving players underground. The government is looking for a balance between protecting the public and the risk of fuelling an illegal market if pressure becomes excessive.
