Governor calls for an end to online betting
São Paulo governor Tarcísio de Freitas called for an end to online sports betting in Brazil during the “Diálogos da Saúde” (Health Dialogues) debate on 17 August, held at the Union of Hospitals, Clinics and Laboratories of São Paulo (SindHosp) in partnership with Fesaúde. Tarcísio, a candidate for re-election as governor in October, said gambling addiction has stopped being a matter of entertainment and now requires a response from the state’s health system.
“Either Brazil ends betting, or betting ends Brazil. We have to understand that this is a health problem.”
The statement puts Tarcísio alongside a growing list of nationally prominent politicians taking a critical line on the betting sector this year, including President Lula, who has also criticised betting platforms in recent weeks. The trend is widely read as an attempt by candidates to connect with conservative voters ahead of Brazil’s October general election. Brazil’s betting market is regulated nationally by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), which published 2,240 pages covering its 85 licensed operators earlier this month.
Betting as a public health problem
Tarcísio compared gambling addiction to Brazil’s campaign against smoking and argued it should be treated as a disease, with dedicated care provided by public health services.
“We were effective in getting people to quit tobacco. Will we manage the same with betting? I think the challenges now are bigger than the challenges tobacco posed in the past.”
He also linked the growth of online betting to household debt, saying 20% of Brazilians’ income is committed to gambling. Tarcísio did not cite a source for the figure, and no independent data confirms it at that scale.
A national treatment program
Tarcísio proposed a national program dedicated to treating gambling addiction, calling for it to be accessible and delivered digitally. He pointed to telemedicine as a model, citing the state’s use of remote care for military police officers, which he said had reduced suicides within the force. He gave no timeline, budget, or legislative detail for the proposal, and said it would form part of his re-election platform.
Industry pushback
The betting industry has pushed back on the wave of political criticism. Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), said the sector needs to stay resilient through the election period and expects the criticism to ease once the campaign ends.
“The sector needs to remain resilient during this turbulent electoral period.”
What’s next
Brazil’s regulated betting market, opened to licensed operators at the start of 2025, is now under sustained political pressure from figures across the spectrum ahead of the October vote. Tarcísio’s comments add a sitting state governor to that list, raising the prospect of tighter federal restrictions or new taxes on the sector regardless of who wins in October. Neither SindHosp nor Fesaúde indicated the debate would lead to a formal legislative proposal.
Source: Government of the State of São Paulo
