São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas has called for the creation of a national program to treat gambling addiction while arguing that Brazil should end online sports betting platforms altogether. He said the program would be “robust, accessible, and digitized,” with gambling addiction treated as a public health problem.
His position comes as Brazil ranks among the world’s largest online betting markets, following the expansion of digital gambling platforms in recent years. Tarcísio said the scale of the activity has moved the issue beyond entertainment and requires a public health response from the state.
“Either Brazil ends gambling, or gambling ends Brazil. We have to understand that this is a health problem,” the governor stated during the “Health Dialogues” debate held at the Union of Hospitals, Clinics and Laboratories of São Paulo (SindHosp).
The São Paulo governor, who is seeking re-election in the state, is among several nationally prominent politicians who have adopted increasingly critical positions toward the betting sector, a move interpreted by many analysts as an effort to connect with conservative voters.
Forming his argument for treating gambling addiction as a disease, Tarcísio compared the challenge with previous public health efforts to reduce smoking. He said public authorities should provide specialized care for people affected by gambling addiction.
“We were effective in weaning people off tobacco. And so the question is: will we be able to be effective in weaning people off drugs? The challenges are the same now. Perhaps the challenges now are greater than the challenges of tobacco were in the past,” said the governor.
Tarcísio also connected the growth of gambling with household indebtedness. He said 20% of Brazilians’ income is committed to gambling, although no sources were provided for the data.
According to the Ministry of Finance, 31 million CPF numbers (Brazilian taxpayer ID numbers) are registered on legal betting platforms, equal to about 18% of Brazil’s adult population. Bettors’ actual expenditure, or losses, reached R$ 36.8 billion in 2025, representing 0.5% of the Brazilian family budget, according to that report.