Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has publicly called for a ban on national gambling activities for the second time in two months, a stance that quickly triggered a strong response from the local gambling industry association. In an interview with the media, Lula stated that if possible, he would immediately shut down all gambling operations, and hinted that the industry is politically protected due to funding politicians. In response, the Brazilian Responsible Gambling Association warned that a complete ban on legal gambling would not only fail to eliminate social demand but would push a large number of players into the illegal market without any protective measures. The association also brought out a series of specific data, trying to persuade the government to abandon the idea of banning gambling from perspectives such as the proportion of family debt, tax contributions, and player protection mechanisms.
Lula's second challenge: Family debt as the core reason for the gambling ban
Lula's remarks on banning gambling were not impulsive. As early as International Women's Day in March this year, he had targeted the erosion of Brazilian family finances by online gambling. He said at the time, "Although most addicts are male, the heavy burden ultimately falls on women. Money for buying food, paying rent, and children's tuition fees just disappears on the mobile screen." These words directly pointed to the impact of gambling on grassroots livelihoods. In this week's latest interview, Lula went further, directly stating that the gambling industry has financial influence on congress members, and questioned, "If gambling is as harmful as we think, why not simply eliminate it completely?"
Facing the president's continuous bombardment, IBJR chose to speak with data. The association cited technical research from professional consulting agencies, pointing out that Brazilian families' spending on gambling actually only accounts for 0.2% to 0.5% of total family consumption, far less than what outsiders imagine. The association also cited data from the National Consumer Debt and Default Survey, emphasizing that the main culprit causing excessive family debt in Brazil is actually credit cards, affecting 80.2% of indebted families. To prove the self-regulation of the compliant market, the association specifically stated that all regulated platforms have already banned the use of credit cards and cryptocurrencies for payment, cutting off the channel for overdraft gambling from the source.
Regulatory framework as a moat: The legal market comes with multiple insurances
IBJR repeatedly emphasized a core point in the statement: closing the legal market is equivalent to self-destruction. The association explained that since the officially regulated market was launched on January 1, 2025, a globally modern set of regulatory systems has been established. If it reverts to the old path of complete prohibition, all carefully constructed protection mechanisms will collapse instantly, and players will inevitably flood into unregulated illegal platforms.
To make the argument more convincing, the association detailed the mandatory compliance requirements that licensed operators must adhere to. First is the strict KYC identity verification process, where mandatory facial recognition technology is used to prevent minors from participating. Next are the multiple safeguard tools on the platform side, including game duration limits, deposit caps, and mandatory self-exclusion functions. The association's stance is clear: only in a regulated environment can these mandatory safety protections truly take root. Therefore, regulation itself is the main barrier protecting the financial and mental health of the Brazilian people.
Real contributions in gold and silver: The bargaining chips behind tax revenue figures
In addition to the social protection level of the argument, IBJR also threw out a set of fiscal data that cannot be ignored. In Brazil, each licensed operator is required to pay a license fee of up to 30 million reais, in addition to bearing the burden of gambling taxes and other additional taxes. In just the year 2025 alone, the legal gambling industry contributed 9.95 billion reais in tax revenue to the treasury. With the advancement of tax reform, the total tax burden of operators is expected to climb to 42% of total gambling revenue by 2033.
This series of figures undoubtedly reminds the decision-makers: legal gambling is an inseparable part of public finance. Therefore, IBJR calls on Lula to reconsider his stance on banning gambling, stating directly that "regulatory regression would mean strangling the key fiscal revenue used for social development, while exposing the Brazilian people nakedly to the risks of the illegal market." The association reiterates its willingness to maintain transparent, professional technical dialogue with administrative and legislative departments to consolidate a safe and responsible economic industry. PASA's official website also pays attention to the global emerging market regulatory dynamics, noting how to seek a balance between public pressure and industry standardization, which is a common governance issue faced by Brazil and other Latin American countries.
From the current situation, Lula's call for a gambling ban still largely remains at the political statement level, and pushing for a comprehensive ban still requires a lengthy legislative struggle in Congress. Meanwhile, IBJR's powerful response with data and regulatory frameworks has laid enough weight for this policy tug-of-war.
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