Brazil’s football economy was caught in the political floodlights on Friday after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered an immediate halt to online sports betting, days before a closely contested presidential election.
Key takeaways
- Online betting platforms can no longer accept wagers in Brazil with immediate effect.
- The measure still requires parliamentary approval to become permanent legislation.
- Thirteen of Brazil’s 20 top-flight clubs have betting companies as their principal shirt sponsor.
- Brazilian household income spent on betting reached 62.5 billion reais in 2025, or more than €10 billion.
- Lula is level in polling with senator Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of the first-round vote on 4 October.
Football clubs face sponsorship uncertainty
Economy Minister Dario Durigan announced the ban at an event in São Paulo attended by Lula, saying that, from Friday, people in Brazil would no longer be able to place money on betting websites.
The decision places immediate pressure on a major source of revenue for Brazilian football. Betting firms have become deeply embedded in the domestic game, with 13 of the 20 clubs in the country’s first division carrying a betting brand as their main jersey partner.
Several leading clubs had already opposed the prospect of a prohibition, arguing that sponsorship income from the sector is vital to their finances. Neymar and Vinícius Júnior are among the best-known figures used in Brazilian advertising campaigns for the platforms, commonly called “bets” in the country.
The presidential order is in force now, but lawmakers must back it for the restriction to remain part of Brazilian law permanently.
Lula makes betting a campaign issue
The 80-year-old president has intensified his criticism of the industry during the closing phase of the campaign, presenting gambling as a public-health concern rather than simply a matter of regulation.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Lula said the fast expansion of the multi-million-dollar betting business was turning addiction into profit and leaving families in debt and distress.
The issue has resonance in a country where eight in 10 households face some form of indebtedness, based on figures released in August by the National Confederation of Commerce. A joint study by Brazil’s states estimated that betting accounted for 62.5 billion reais of household spending during 2025.
The intervention comes shortly before the first round of the presidential election on 4 October. Lula is neck-and-neck in recent surveys with Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, a senator and the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
