Brazilian President Wishes He Could Ban Online Gambling

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva struck another populist tone on Wednesday, after he argued that online betting platforms that his government helped usher in should be banned. 

The octogenarian has never been too sweet on online gambling, but he saw it as a way to boost the public purse with one important caveat – he might renege on it at once. Now, Lula, as he is known affectionately to his supporters, is delivering on that second promise.

If It Were Up to Him

This comes at a time when the online gambling industry is delivering around $4 billion every year in revenues for its operators. Thankfully, Lula has little recourse to dismantle the industry on a whim, with the President leaning into his typical musing during an interview. 

“If it’s up to me, we close them,” Lula told ICL Noticias, a media outlet, and went on to bemoan the indebtedness of Brazilian people who have fallen on the wrong side of the pastime. 

“If these platforms cause harm, why don’t we end them? We are discussing this very seriously,” glossing over the fact that it was he who made these platforms a reality. But a ban is hardly on the cards with the government first seeking to raise the current taxes to 12% of the platform’s income.

The industry has been cautioning against overly belligerent regulation, arguing that the only thing it would end up doing is drive more people offshore, with Brazilians still suffering the repercussions of gambling. 

Lula’s comments come at a time when statistics show that 80% of the country’s households presently have some level of debt to support and address, with the President delivering on his populist streak by vilifying the industry.

Further regulation is welcomed, but regretting the regulation of the gambling industry a year later points to a lack of planning beforehand. Whether Brazil will oust its regulated gambling sector remains to be seen.

Lula, however, would probably opt for the pragmatic option of taxing and bolstering the public purse rather than completely shutting it down, notwithstanding his limited say in an outright ban. The country is already taking more serious consumer protection measures to safeguard consumers.