Four candidates in Brazil's presidential race promise to ban online betting sites, known locally as bets. None of them explains how the government would make up for the lost tax revenue, estimated at R$ 12.2 billion for 2025. The tally comes from a survey of campaign platforms by Folha de S.Paulo, published on Tuesday (8).
According to the newspaper, another four candidates make no mention of the issue in their government programs. Two of them spoke outside the documents: one promised a ban in a statement to Folha, and the other defended higher taxes on the sector. Only one candidate promises to outlaw online casino advertising, while most repeat measures already in force.
What the candidates promise
Former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema (Novo) is the most direct: he said a ban on betting sites would be his "first act" in office. "We have a very serious problem in Brazil today, and it seems the authorities have turned a blind eye," he said at an event in São Paulo with women whose relatives were hurt by gambling. He compared gambling addiction to chemical dependency, "maybe even worse in some aspects." Renan Santos (Missão) also promises to shut down the bets, citing the social cost of addiction. The positions were reported by O Globo in August.
President Lula (PT), who is running for reelection, told the podcasts Não Inviabilize and As Cunhãs: "If it depended on my personal will, we would end the bets." His team is studying restrictions with the Finance, Planning and Justice ministries, without giving details. Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) put in his program a ban on using federal social welfare money in bets. "Money meant to put food on the table cannot flow into the betting houses," the campaign document reads. The tactical detail: that rule has already been in force since October 2025 for recipients of the Bolsa Família welfare program and the BPC disability benefit. His running mate, Alfredo Gaspar (PL), admitted that Flávio "does not yet have a defined position on a total ban."
The bill nobody has presented
Online betting was legalized in 2018 under Michel Temer, limited to fixed-odds wagers. Regulation came at the end of 2023, and the regulated market opened in 2025, with 85 companies licensed after paying a R$ 30 million fee each. The law also made online casinos legal, including the so-called tigrinho slot games, on the same platforms as sports betting. Banning all of it erases a revenue line the Treasury already counts on, and no campaign program says where the replacement money would come from. Because gambling is authorized by federal law, O Globo notes, a ban depends on Congress and the president. Enforcement remains active: the Finance ministry tightened advertising rules, with risk warnings and a ban on "easy gain" pitches, and the betting regulator suspended websites tied to six companies in August for breaking the rules.
Among voters, the issue carries less weight than the noise suggests. In a July poll by More in Common/Ipsos-Ipec, 58% said the bets issue would not change their vote, 24% favor candidates who support limiting betting, 12% said the opposite and 7% did not answer.