Brazil’s government is considering restrictions on online betting that could include a ban on digital casino games known as “tigrinho,” as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva makes gambling a major issue in his reelection campaign.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, government aides expect action against betting platforms, while Lula’s allies say he favors severe or potentially total restrictions. Even under a narrower approach, officials expect tigrinho to be specifically targeted. The final decision is expected to be discussed from Wednesday (23), following Lula’s return from the UN General Assembly.
Tigrinho refers to online casino games that are not linked to real-world events, unlike sports betting, which depends on results such as football matches. Government sources cited by Folha said the casino segment generates the majority of betting companies’ revenue.
A ban would raise legal and regulatory complications. Authorized betting operators paid R$ 30 million ($5.8 million) each for licenses allowing them to operate for five years. Officials have warned that ending those operations early could trigger litigation and possible compensation claims against the federal government for the remaining license period.
Enforcement is another concern. Officials fear that prohibited platforms could remain accessible after a formal ban, weakening the practical effect of any restriction.
The sector also has political influence in the National Congress, where any provisional measure or bill would have to be considered. Betting companies sponsor digital influencers as well, creating concern among Lula’s allies that some could oppose him during the campaign if restrictions affect their activities.
The issue is already being incorporated into Workers’ Party campaign material. A television program on Tuesday featured Lula speaking with people indebted because of gambling addiction. The campaign portrayed online betting as having been authorized during Michel Temer’s administration and left without regulation during Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
Lula has also raised betting concerns at recent campaign rallies in Guarulhos, São Paulo, and Florianópolis. At the Guarulhos event on Friday, he said he had helped organize a fundraiser to pay off debts incurred by a person through online gambling.
Lula said he later met the same individual again and recalled the exchange: “I asked, ‘are you gambling?’. He started crying and said: ‘I owe R$ 50, Mr. President. I’ve already spent your R$ 24 and I owe another R$ 50, I’m going to kill myself’”.
A Datafolha survey released in May 2026 found that 57% of Brazilians considered online gambling an addiction, while 31% viewed it as a way to lose money.
Online betting was authorized during the Temer administration and remained unregulated throughout Bolsonaro’s presidency. Regulation was finalized under Lula at the end of 2023, and the regulated market began operating in 2025 after a transition period, with 85 companies authorized after paying R$ 30 million ($5.8 million) each.
Lula’s allies have also linked betting to household indebtedness. A study by Comsefaz (National Committee of Finance Secretaries) and Cicef (Celso Furtado International Center for Development Policies) estimated that Brazilian families lost R$ 62.5 billion ($12.17 billion) to betting platforms in 2025, though the figure has been disputed by the BNLData Narrative Seal.
The Workers’ Party is also distributing anti-betting material on social media, including responses to claims from football clubs that prohibiting betting companies could threaten Brazilian football.