Brazil's Lula bans online gambling. Describes it as "cancer"

[AmaGold70]

Well, who knows what must have prompted such decision from the incubent Brazilian president Luiz da Silva, but if such decision is taken without any reasonable facts, it would be very irrational to take such decision that will crumble the Brazilian soccer, and as well as reduce the revenues generated by the Brazilian government from these gambling companies. As far as I thought football is something that many countries youths are benefiting from, and count like Brazil that is very active in football , if sponsorship from these gambling companies is withdrawn can there be progress or growth among these teams? Or will the Brazilian government be able to give these teams the required sponsorship? To me, the problem is not all about placing ban on these gambling companies, but where the problem will lye is when the government is unable to do those things that these gambling companies are doing because it will affect Brazilian soccer, and as well as the government.

[YOSHIE]

If the ban goes into effect, the biggest winners would be dark market crypto casinos, which don't care too much about compliance with Brazilian law. I think crypto in general will see increased adoption in Brazil.

The incident that occurred in Brazil, currently the government prohibits access to gambling sites, has already happened in Indonesia, exactly the same as gambling is legally prohibited, but the facts that occur on the ground, In fact, Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest number of gambling players. It is possible that this could also happen in Brazil, when gambling sites are banned and can no longer be accessed, Gambling operators will take steps to overcome cross-border legal loopholes, especially now that foreign-based technological infrastructure is easy to access and digital camouflage methods can also be applied.

Maybe the government can succeed in making regulations prohibiting gambling in Brazil, but they cannot prohibit its use for gambling. If a situation like that occurs then various special applications will be born that are easy for users to access without being detected by the Brazilian government, such as VPN, APK and gambling platform access without needing a browser, Chrome certainly avoids the risk of being blocked by DNS, these are all facts that occur in countries where gambling sites are prohibited.

What's more, currently the average online gambling site uses E-Wallet based payment/deposit methods, digital wallets, crypto such as USDT or Bitcoin, Gamblers can do this at home using mobile/Android without having to submit to local banking to carry out the deposit and withdrawal process. I think that in the future, gambling in Brazil will actually increase more than it is now.

[KTChampions]

He only did this to promote himself as a hero during election season. It's a temporary measure that can last a maximum of 90 days. What he did was practically a crime of fraud, because he charged for casino licensing; many football teams here signed 4-5 year sponsorship contracts, and some will lose approximately $200 million. Nothing this government does is thinking about the people, but only about themselves. And they're still using the population's indebtedness as an excuse, as if the price of housing, rent, low wages, unemployment, and high food prices didn't exist. Bunch of hypocrites...

The saddest thing is not that such populists exist, but that they exist because of the demand for such populism. In other words, there is a vast number of people foolish enough to support irrational or semi-fraudulent slogans. This is the paradox of democracy and the primary reason why any government, if it becomes large enough to meddle in every sphere of life, causes harm. Ideally, the goal shouldn't be to defend against such populists, but rather to avoid situations where they can influence the lives of ordinary people altogether - which means having a small government.

[Agbe]

Whether the president call online gambling a cancer or not it's illigal for him to stop anyone from gambling all in the name of protecting the citizens. He can't just band online gambling , it's is within the right of every individual who wants to gamble to do so. Any responsible government will only regulate and Make sure that online gambling companies to comply with the rules that guides gambling in the country. If the president thinks that he is protecting the citizens by stopping them from gambling is not a welcome idea.

If this move is taken by the president for the sake of the elections then, I don't think that he is right here because the gambling community will not be in his favour because, most of these people gambling will not be in support of this move.

[uneng]

He only did this to promote himself as a hero during election season. It's a temporary measure that can last a maximum of 90 days. What he did was practically a crime of fraud, because he charged for casino licensing; many football teams here signed 4-5 year sponsorship contracts, and some will lose approximately $200 million. Nothing this government does is thinking about the people, but only about themselves. And they're still using the population's indebtedness as an excuse, as if the price of housing, rent, low wages, unemployment, and high food prices didn't exist. Bunch of hypocrites...

The saddest thing is not that such populists exist, but that they exist because of the demand for such populism. In other words, there is a vast number of people foolish enough to support irrational or semi-fraudulent slogans. This is the paradox of democracy and the primary reason why any government, if it becomes large enough to meddle in every sphere of life, causes harm. Ideally, the goal shouldn't be to defend against such populists, but rather to avoid situations where they can influence the lives of ordinary people altogether - which means having a small government.

Reality is that brazilian people don't want to take responsability for their own acts. They don't blame themselves for being in debt and gambling more than they could afford to lose. They blame everyone else, but them.

Lula saw on this an opportunity to shine and reinforce his imagery of "big daddy" who protects, care and make sure his people don't do harmful things. Even though it's pure demagogy, since he was one of those who regulated gambling industry years ago and gave all the grants to the companies.

His method works, because it's coherent with the mindset of what the average brazilian expects. A mindset of people who don't want to take responsabilities, but want access to every rights and benefits as possible, even when doing shit.

[Renampun]

So basically, the Brazilian government is like robbing casinos but in a more subtle way through regulations.. I think it's just not right. If that president is so keen on fighting gambling, then why did he allow casinos to pay for licenses to operate legally in the first place? If as a result, the casino operations end up having a negative impact on society, there should have been stricter oversight and adjustments to the regulations.. banning gambling entirely won't solve the problem, it will only make people turn to illegal casinos and they won't get anything. So no matter how you look at it, it's kind of funny how that president can change his decision so quickly and doesn't consider the impact on those casinos.

[stompix]

Curiously, neither of his sons have political careers. But the one who carries his name, Lulinha (Little Lula), is being investigated once again in a corruption scandal involving a scheme with money from public pension fund for elders.
None of his kids could run for presidency after him and his political legacy must be desired by another leftwing politicians. There isn't a clear figure to replace him, though.

Is that because they were convicted cause some just being investigated under some charge here in Europe doesn't lose any of his constitutional rights till a final sentence?

It’s worth noting that they never actually imposed any fines, but just the fact that they announced a fine was enough to scare the majority of the population
They might end up imposing fines on those who circumvent the rule, and I’m sure that alone would already reduce usage
Most people also don’t know how to use cryptos for betting, so with the banking system blocked for casinos, betting volume has likely already dropped by more than 90%, I’m sure of it

So they achieved what they wanted: scare some, make others feel like they are doing stuff...
They didn't stop it but put a brake on it, but from a political move, it's a success

In a responsible government, he would already be in jail

When was the last time you had a responsible government? Franco ? 
Look at what other countries are electing: you should be happy with your selection, it can be way worse!

Reality is that brazilian people don't want to take responsability for their own acts. They don't blame themselves for being in debt and gambling more than they could afford to lose. They blame everyone else, but them.

You're missing a huge chunk of the ones who would applaud this measure.
Family members of the ones addicted to gambling that cnat stop their relative from losing money!
Those are the hardcore voters against gambling, and if you knew the stories of some, you would be a bit more mildly critical about this.

[osasshem]

It is a rational decision that is intended for the positive growth of the country and for the good of the people's well being, despite it has some effect on the economic status of the country, yet there could be other activities that can occupy the spot. Gambling generates good funds into the national treasury, that's why it is very difficult to see a country that fights against gambling.

[bhadz]

Our country also experiencing that much debt per individual and losing their sanity due to the massive online gambling that we have. Even with regulation, there are more gambling apps than financial apps existing right now. If my government has the balls to do this, many will salute them. I myself as a gambler but I can still control myself compared to my countrymen who have been gambling with debt because they think that they can still recover it and pay with interest. They're doing absolutely crazy things right now due to gambling addiction.

[r_victory]

We used to have bingo halls here in Brazil (a kind of casino with only slot machines), and they were banned with the same excuse many years ago. Casinos have been banned here since 1946. Then Lula comes along, regulates everything, raises almost 4 billion dollars in two years, and then bans it again...

We have a type of lottery operating (there's even a bill to regulate it), called "Jogo do Bicho" (Animal Game), controlled by criminals, mainly from Rio de Janeiro, and every bar where I live has a booth for this game operating normally, but it's illegal. It causes the same damage, or even more, because there have been many murders to control the scheme.

Where is the hero Lula in all this? It's pure hypocrisy and opportunism. That's all!

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-40140693
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e36slcL80gk
https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/noticia/2023/12/03/nova-cupula-do-jogo-do-bicho-guerra-por-territorios-muda-mapa-da-contravencao-e-tem-rastro-de-13-mortes.ghtml

Anyone who knows Lula and the party he founded knows very well what his intentions are. This guy doesn't fool me.

Reality is that brazilian people don't want to take responsability for their own acts. They don't blame themselves for being in debt and gambling more than they could afford to lose. They blame everyone else, but them.

You're missing a huge chunk of the ones who would applaud this measure.
Family members of the ones addicted to gambling that cnat stop their relative from losing money!
Those are the hardcore voters against gambling, and if you knew the stories of some, you would be a bit more mildly critical about this.

I agree with you, stompix. It's not that the Brazilian people don't want to take responsibility for their actions; many people suffer because of it, and the health system has been helping in the treatment of addicts.

[Italian Panic]

I agree with you, stompix. It's not that the Brazilian people don't want to take responsibility for their actions; many people suffer because of it, and the health system has been helping in the treatment of addicts.

Before gambling is banned, it must be regulated, because prohibition leads to reckless use of what is banned, and the market ends up in the hands of organised crime. There are studies showing that when something that is banned is regulated, its use also becomes normalised because it loses its appeal. For example, during the American Prohibition era a century ago, alcohol consumption was high with illegal distilleries everywhere; then Prohibition was abolished and the use of alcohol was regulated, and as a result, alcohol consumption normalised at lower levels.

[Adiljutt156]

So basically, the Brazilian government is like robbing casinos but in a more subtle way through regulations.. I think it's just not right. If that president is so keen on fighting gambling, then why did he allow casinos to pay for licenses to operate legally in the first place? If as a result, the casino operations end up having a negative impact on society, there should have been stricter oversight and adjustments to the regulations.. banning gambling entirely won't solve the problem, it will only make people turn to illegal casinos and they won't get anything. So no matter how you look at it, it's kind of funny how that president can change his decision so quickly and doesn't consider the impact on those casinos.

Politicians always have dual faces he is already having enough corruption cases with money laundering just because of this suddenly thinking like this almost 81 years old after few days just because of this mind is also not working like he needs for post like this where he is sitting and enjoying all luxuries.

I personally never like politicians like him those are having enough to enjoy and then suddenly have new rules due to their own ego he needs to be stay on for awareness before having any decision like this because suddenly its not going to be work just going to be increase activity of illegal casinos who could be more beneficial after this new ban or maybe he is having any syndicate who is going to increase his profit from this new legislation from because without any personal interest they are not going to bring changes like this quickly.

[retreat]

Where is the hero Lula in all this? It's pure hypocrisy and opportunism. That's all!

I think this already explains everything. He changes the rules however he wants and acts like he's fighting gambling, yet he turns a blind eye to the fact that illegal gambling operations are still running so freely. If he really wanted to fight gambling completely, he should be strict in eradicating it, but what happens is he only targets legal gambling operators and acts like a saint because it's election season. If that's not hypocritical and opportunistic, then what is.

[Odusko]

Well, who knows what must have prompted such decision from the incubent Brazilian president Luiz da Silva, but if such decision is taken without any reasonable facts, it would be very irrational to take such decision that will crumble the Brazilian soccer, and as well as reduce the revenues generated by the Brazilian government from these gambling companies. As far as I thought football is something that many countries youths are benefiting from, and count like Brazil that is very active in football , if sponsorship from these gambling companies is withdrawn can there be progress or growth among these teams? Or will the Brazilian government be able to give these teams the required sponsorship? To me, the problem is not all about placing ban on these gambling companies, but where the problem will lye is when the government is unable to do those things that these gambling companies are doing because it will affect Brazilian soccer, and as well as the government.

From what I read about the Brazilian authority on the ban of gambling operations within their country, is most likely as a result of poor policy's from the government, and sometimes when you see that a president take such wrong decisions it can be because of wrong adviser's around them.

I remember when similar policies was made in my country against cryptocurrency, the government gave a blanket ban without careful thoughts about the danger it will bring to the country tax and other means of revenue generation for the fed.

[Nwada001]

He only did this to promote himself as a hero during election season. It's a temporary measure that can last a maximum of 90 days. What he did was practically a crime of fraud, because he charged for casino licensing; many football teams here signed 4-5 year sponsorship contracts, and some will lose approximately $200 million. Nothing this government does is thinking about the people, but only about themselves. And they're still using the population's indebtedness as an excuse, as if the price of housing, rent, low wages, unemployment, and high food prices didn't exist. Bunch of hypocrites...

Many football clubs in the country will majorly be affected by this law, with the majority of their sponsorship coming from these betting companies.

Since the president is not the only one that has to make this type of law happen, the whole congress are the hypocrites; they don’t think about the future of the country and how this selfish decision will make them look. This art appears like what they have planned beforehand even before the licensing agreement standard begins.

[Darker45]

This is an extreme measure and, I'm afraid, extremes are often wrong in the end, especially because there are a number of ways for people who love gambling to go around this.

Regulation is probably the key, coupled with strict implementation. The people gets to gamble and with sufficient protection, and the government also gets to earn.

Of course, gambling is net negative to any society, but government measures to prevent it from turning into a cancer, if they want to be effective, should be realistic.

[yhiaali3]

I don't know why the Brazilian Prime Minister wants to ban online gambling in the country, but by describing it as a cancer, I understand that it has become terribly widespread in the country and perhaps many have become addicted to the point of causing a lot of social problems.

However, banning is not the solution; banning something often leads to people becoming more attached to it, and banning online casinos is extremely difficult with the spread of crypto and privacy-preserving applications.

[criptoevangelista]

... What's happening in Brazil is absolute madness.

Yes, it is madness.
It pretty much shows that all this stuff which the president is doing with their national gambling industry is a product of utter improvisation and there is no planning behind it.
It is like... Changing the course of the gambling industry in Brazil because of the will and whim of the president.
In any serious country the president and the state in general would be forced to respect those licenses which were issued for 30 million so gambling could not be outlawed for several years.

This is a political and populist move which is being pulled by Lula in order to have a chance to defeat Bolsonaro in the incoming presidential elections.

Lula is playing every card he has up his sleeve. Yesterday, there was supposed to be a presidential debate on Brazil's largest TV network, but Lula's political party went to court so that he wouldn't be mentioned during the debate, which, by the way, he had already confirmed he wouldn't attend. Due to legal uncertainty, the TV network decided to cancel the debate, leaving the Brazilian people unable to hear the candidates' proposals. It's tough, man. The government is completely lost, and I believe that if Lula is defeated at the polls, something will happen... these people just don't want to leave power anymore. Let's see what happens with the betting companies; I don't think the provisional measure will stand. After all, it's way too much lost money that these companies won't just accept losing.

[Jubilee58]

I believe gambling companies have been in operation for many years in Brazil, and in a way this gambling companies have also contributed to the economic growth of Brazil, and at the same time in their sporting sector. Maybe Luiz has seen the need to stop them from operation as a result of citizens being addicted to gambling. If feel the activities of gamblers can be regulated if really the Brazilian government want to help citizens desist from gambling addiction. Some countries have encouraged self exclusion for their citizens, and some have also giving other rules to these gambling companies, and all is geared towards protecting citizens. It would be better for gambling companies, gambling activities among citizens to be regulated than stoping the gambling platforms from total operation. The reason is because, the Brazilian government is benefiting from these gambling platforms through task generation, generation of employment, and teams sponsorship, and all these benefits would be gone, and some might still gamble using VPN .

[WhoYouCantKill]

So basically, the Brazilian government is like robbing casinos but in a more subtle way through regulations.. I think it's just not right. If that president is so keen on fighting gambling, then why did he allow casinos to pay for licenses to operate legally in the first place? If as a result, the casino operations end up having a negative impact on society, there should have been stricter oversight and adjustments to the regulations.. banning gambling entirely won't solve the problem, it will only make people turn to illegal casinos and they won't get anything. So no matter how you look at it, it's kind of funny how that president can change his decision so quickly and doesn't consider the impact on those casinos.

I think a more realistic way to look at it is that the issue wasn’t simply whether the government can actually regulate gambling, but rather whether the casinos and gambling operators were actually given friendly regulatory environment before they were shut down. The Brazilian government had actually legalized fixed odd betting, and operators were actually paying for authorization, and then suddenly the government later came back to prohibit the whole activity.