Brazilian President Lula da Silva once again attacked the online gambling industry during his re-election campaign. In an interview with Brazil's national TV program "Sem Censura" (Uncensored), the Labor Party leader clearly stated: "If it were up to the president, I would propose during the campaign—I support shutting down all those gambling websites that serve no useful purpose to this country." However, PASA's official website noted that Lula immediately acknowledged that reality is not that simple—he does not "own Brazil," and the decision-making power is not solely in his hands.
Signing regulatory laws yet calling for a ban: The struggle between the President and Congress
Lula explained in the interview why he signed the sports betting and online gambling regulatory laws: if he vetoed the bill passed by Congress, the veto would likely be overturned. "It's not something I can decide alone, I do not own Brazil. Just as I say Trump does not own the world, I do not own Brazil either. I am the President of the Republic, part of the tripartite system of government managing this country—along with Congress and the judiciary." Plainly speaking, Lula's campaign rhetoric of ending online gambling is more about courting conservative voters—including evangelical ones. Every time he talks about family debt issues, he always scapegoats online gambling, never admitting that high interest rates are the real root cause of rising debts.
Claims to have shut down 90% of illegal sites, yet half the market still operates underground
Lula claimed on the show that the government has shut down over **90% of illegal gambling sites, but he did not explain why **50%** of the market still operates underground. This contradiction in data precisely shows that tackling illegal operators is much more complex than campaign slogans suggest. In terms of advertising regulation, Lula believes that gambling platforms should be treated equally with other industries—"What is illegal in everyday life should also be illegal in any other context." Faced with the difficulty of completely shutting down the industry, Lula turned to a more pragmatic stance: it is necessary to distinguish between legal and illegal operators, "You can allow one or two operators, but you cannot let small workshops go unpunished." In his view, society needs financial education, and the online gambling industry also needs stricter rules. Lula finally characterized gambling with one sentence—"Gambling is a disease, an addiction."
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader" gambling news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
