Overview
- Luis Inácio Lula da Silva announced on March 8 that he will push for a nationwide prohibition of digital casinos.
- He called for the Executive, Congress and the Judiciary to act together to stop online gambling from indebting households.
- Lula argued that most bettors are men but the financial strain falls on women as essential funds vanish on phone screens.
- Brazil has barred physical casinos since 1946, while recent laws authorized and licensed online betting through state and Finance Ministry oversight.
- The initiative is a policy push rather than law at this stage, and in the same speech Lula also said he believes the Russia–Ukraine war’s outcome is clear to the main actors.