# Lula bans online gambling days before election

> Brazil's president signs a ban on sports betting and online casinos just over a week before voters decide his fourth term.
- Title: Lula bans online gambling days before election · BBC News
- Summary: Brazil's president signs a ban on sports betting and online casinos just over a week before voters decide his fourth term. President Lula banned online…
- Keywords: luiz inácio lula da silva, brazil, online gambling, sports betting, presidential election, flávio bolsonaro, brazilian football, news, world, Lula, bans, online
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c914ddj21rzlo
- Published: 2026-09-26T03:22:17.816+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: luiz inácio lula da silva, brazil, online gambling, sports betting, presidential election, flávio bolsonaro, brazilian football, news, world
## Lula bans online gambling
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional order on Friday prohibiting all sports betting and online casinos, just days before an election.
## The industry blamed for addiction
Online gambling was legalised in Brazil in two thousand eighteen and has since been blamed for widespread household income losses due to addiction.
## Lula calls it a cancer
Lula described the industry as a cancer in his announcement, saying either we remove the tumour or it kills us.

> either we remove the tumour, or it kills us
## Bolsonaro attacks the timing
Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula's rival in the election, accused him of playing politics, calling the ban populist, hypocritical and politically motivated.

> populist, hypocritical and politically motivated
## Football clubs fear lost sponsorship
Brazilian football teams warned the ban could cost them income as betting firms pull sponsorships. Clubs received one point one billion Brazilian reais from betting firms in two thousand twenty five.
## Congress must approve within four months
Punters and bookies have until October fifth to withdraw funds from betting accounts. The new measures must receive congressional approval within one hundred twenty days to remain in force.
## Key takeaway

President Lula banned online gambling in Brazil days before an election, citing addiction and household income losses, though the ban needs congressional approval within one hundred twenty days to remain in force.