Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, signed an order banning fixed-odds sports betting approximately one week before the country's first round of presidential voting. The measure prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of such betting.
Lula framed the ban as a response to families falling into debt through betting. He characterized the decision as "hard, drastic and necessary." According to The Guardian, polls suggest the move is likely to attract widespread public support.
The timing places the announcement just days before Brazilians cast ballots in the first round of the presidential election. The ban applies to fixed-odds betting specifically, ending legal access to that category of wagering across the country.