Lula announces MP and PL to ban betting sites 9 days before the election
President Lula announced this Friday the forwarding of a bill that aims to ban betting sites.
TL;DR
- President Lula announced a package to ban online betting sites.
- A Provisional Measure and a bill will be sent to Congress.
- Penalties of four to six years in prison are proposed for operating or advertising betting sites.
- Money deposited in online casino accounts can be requested by October 5th, with companies needing to return funds between October 9th and 14th.
- The initiative aims to address financial problems and family indebtedness attributed to gambling.
- This action is seen as a move to gain electoral support, occurring nine days before the election.
- This stance contrasts with the government's previous action to create a regulatory framework for the sector less than three years ago.
- A poll indicates that three in four Brazilians agree that betting should be prohibited.
- Betting sites are calculated to have removed R$ 62.5 billion from family income in 2025.
- Presidential opponent Flávio Bolsonaro criticized the measure as an 'electoral scam' and accused Lula of being the 'father of Tigrinho' (an online game).