The President Plans to Consider a Presidential Decree on Gambling in May

After a week of intense political wrangling over the future of the Bets Law, reports confirm that Lula is drafting his own Presidential Decree governing gambling. 

Leonardo Biazzi, Editor of SBC Noticias Brasil, believes the President will choose to bypass standard legislative pathways to restructure Brazil’s gambling sector.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will reveal his plans for the future of the Bets Law and online gambling in Brazil by mid-May.

This update did not come from officials within the Workers Party (PT) government, but from an exclusive report by journalist Lauro Jardim published in his weekly column for O Globo.

Jardim notes that Lula aims to resolve rifts in the divisive online gambling regulatory system via a presidential decree introducing new reforms and safeguards. The measure will be coordinated by the Civil House, with contributions from the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Justice.

Lula has been described as “no friend of the Bets Regime”, and this week industry stakeholders closely watched the President to see if he would back a bill submitted to Congress by the PT government’s Legal Caucus to repeal the Bets Law.

The Bill (PL-1808/2026,) was signed by PT Deputy Pedro Uczai and 68 fellow party members, and would authorize a full ban on all forms of gambling (excluding lotteries), as well as implement broad rule changes and penalties to crack down on third parties including financial institutions and media outlets that coerce people into gambling.

Media outlets have pressed the PT for clarity on whether the President supports the gambling ban, which would return Brazil to a state of prohibition after just 15 months of legal betting under the existing Bets framework.

Yet, in an unexpected turn, Lula appears ready to introduce his own proposals as a countermeasure: rejecting a full ban, but significantly tightening controls on online gambling, as well as eligibility rules for users and market participants.

As outlined in Jardim’s exclusive report, Lula aims to build a regulatory system that will bar people enrolled in government financial assistance programs from accessing betting services. 

With this decree, Lula is again working to protect Bolsa Família recipients from participating in online gambling – an issue that was a core priority during the drafting of the original Bets framework.

Lula seeks to eliminate gambling-related household debt

The PT government continues to frame betting as a key driver of household debt, citing Serasa data showing more than 80 million Brazilians are currently indebted.

However, this narrative is contradicted by official figures from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA/MF), which show gambling makes up just 0.46% of total household consumption.

In addition to participation limits, Lula is expected to roll out wide-ranging protections for gambling advertising, targeting what the government calls “manipulative” marketing practices, especially content that encourages compulsive behavior or addiction among consumers.

Addressing household debt remains a core part of Lula’s political calculus, serving as a key pillar of his approval ratings and re-election strategy ahead of Brazil’s October election cycle.

In summary, Lula has effectively positioned the Bets regime as a political adversary, framing online gambling as a central point of debate in the PT government’s campaign messaging ahead of a potential fourth presidential term.

However, this approach carries the risk of sparking new tensions.

If the President moves forward with a decree that overrides or sidelines the existing framework, it is likely to draw criticism from both industry stakeholders and legislative observers, many of whom question why the government has not worked with Congress to resolve outstanding issues such as targeted advertising rules and the finalization of consumer protection measures.

A presidential decree may ultimately turn out to be an unnecessary escalation. There are already existing mechanisms within the legislative process to address concerns related to indebted consumers and market safeguards.

As seen with the controversial tax changes to the Bets regime at the end of 2025, there is a growing risk that executive overreach could weaken policy coherence, turning what is presented as reform into another misstep in the PT government’s management of the sector.