A new poll found that 75% of Brazilians believe online betting platforms should be banned in the country, up from 73% in April.
Another 17% disagreed with a ban, while 8% neither agreed nor disagreed, compared with 21% and 6% respectively in the earlier survey.
Betting has become a recurring theme in Brazil's 2026 presidential campaign, appearing across candidates' platforms and public statements, with positions ranging from outright bans on platforms and advertising to more targeted measures focused on debt prevention and consumer protection.
Still, over the past five years, Brazil’s Ministry of Health has reported a nearly 140% increase in demand for mental health services linked to online gambling addiction within the country’s public healthcare system.
The poll surveyed 5,015 Brazilian adults, carrying a margin of error of 1 percentage point at a 95% confidence level.
The findings arrive as President Lula continues to publicly support ending online sports betting, repeatedly calling the sector "a harm to society" and promising new measures against it, even as the sector generated BR9.91bn ($1.87bn) in federal tax revenue during the first eight months of 2026.
While Congress holds the legislative authority to approve an outright ban, industry voices told Global Gaming Insider they believe the practical likelihood of that happening remains low given the financial and legal complications it would trigger.
Recently, Brazilian television executives have also reportedly begun lobbying against the potential government ban on betting operators, viewing it as a significant financial risk amid a broader pullback in linear TV betting ad spending in the second half of the year.
Brazil's Federal Revenue Service has recently formalized how bettors must calculate and pay income tax on net betting winnings, confirming an annual per-category system
