Lula cites Flamengo while defending betting ban measure | OneFootball

Lula, Brazil’s president and a re-election candidate, defended a provisional measure banning betting in Brazil, using Flamengo as an example during an appearance on Flow Podcast.

He said clubs warned football would collapse without betting, but argued Brazil and leading sides won before it existed, citing Flamengo in 1981, São Paulo three times, Grêmio and Corinthians, while omitting Palmeiras.

The federal government signed MP 1.394/2026 on Friday 25, arguing betting firms destroy Brazilian families. It ends the exploitation, offering and advertising of fixed-odds betting.

The ban also covers online games and virtual casinos, including ‘Jogo do Tigrinho’. Advertisers have until 23:59 on Monday to remove betting promotions, including on sports kits, after which sites and apps must go offline in Brazil. Fans wearing shirts with betting sponsors are not committing a crime.

Host Igor 3K challenged both the comparison and the timing near elections. Lula said he had not known earlier, that there is a right moment, and that the practice had to end. He added he doubted the government would have the courage to end it despite lobbying and called it a fight he wants to take on.

Fourteen of the 20 Série A clubs carry betting brands as main sponsors. Flamengo has asked the Supreme Federal Court to join ADI 8.027/DF as amicus curiae, the constitutionality case led by Justice Luis Fux, backed by the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias and the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável. Club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista said next year’s hit to revenue, beyond sponsorship, would be R$400 million and that there is no plan B.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

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