Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he does not expect the National Congress to reverse a provisional measure banning betting platforms in the country, while acknowledging that the measure will not eliminate illegal gambling activity.
Speaking during an interview with the Flow Podcast on Thursday, October 1, Lula said he expected the measure to withstand congressional scrutiny. “I doubt Congress has the courage to end it,” the president said.
The measure was issued on September 25, nine days before the first round of Brazil’s presidential election. As a provisional measure, it took effect immediately and remains valid for 120 days, but requires congressional approval to become permanent law.
Lula said the timing of the decision was influenced by the approaching election, arguing that a delay could have prevented him from taking action if he did not remain in office.
“It’s precisely because we have an election that I ended it. Because if I hadn’t ended it and hadn’t won the elections, I would never have ended it,” he declared.
The president said his decision followed conversations with people who had developed gambling addictions and accumulated debts through betting platforms. He said those accounts changed his understanding of the scale of the problem.
“I had no idea of the seriousness of the problem. I suspected it, but I didn’t know. And because we have elections, I finally ended it, because if I didn’t end it and I didn’t win the elections, it would never end,” he declared in the interview.
Lula also said he was aware that the ban would not provide a definitive solution because unregulated operations could continue to emerge. He said he had anticipated criticism from influencers associated with the betting sector but rejected the claim that the decision was intended to secure electoral support.
“There is no proof that this [ending the betting] has won me votes so far. The only issue is this: I made the decision not to allow poor people to be extorted, selling the money meant for their children’s beans, their children’s milk, their children’s bread, to gamble,” he stated.
The first round of Brazil’s 2026 elections held this Sunday ended with a victory for the Liberal Party (PL). Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, came out ahead of current president Lula da Silva with more than 47% of the valid votes.
His party also secured the largest blocs in both the Chamber of Deputies – the lower house of Brazil’s Congress – and the Senate, in addition to five state governments.
Still, the race remains open, as the two candidates now head to a runoff on October 25.