Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva used his national address for International Women’s Day to issue a warning against digital casinos and the popularly known ‘tiger game’ (Tigrinho). The statement, recorded on Thursday, March 5, at the Alvorada Palace and broadcast on Saturday the 7th via national radio and television, lasted approximately six minutes and addressed gambling addiction as one of the main problems affecting Brazilian households.
In his speech, Lula argued that it makes no sense to allow these types of platforms while physical casinos remain prohibited by Brazilian law. “We will work together, uniting the Government, Congress, and the Judiciary, to ensure that these digital casinos do not continue to indebt families and destroy homes,” the president stated.
Gambling addiction as a problem that falls on women
The president established a direct connection between online gambling addiction and the economic impact on Brazilian women. According to Lula, although the majority of addicts are men, it is the women who absorb the financial consequences in the family budget.
“Another tragedy affecting Brazilian homes is gambling addiction. Although the majority of addicts are men, the burden falls disproportionately on women. It is the money intended for food, rent, and the children’s school that disappears from the cell phone screen,” the president declared.
A strategy aimed at the female electorate ahead of 2026
According to advisors from the Planalto Palace, the speech responds to a communication strategy aimed at strengthening the government’s link with female voters, a segment considered a priority ahead of the 2026 presidential elections. The choice of International Women’s Day as a stage to address issues such as gambling addiction, the end of the 6×1 work week, and the fight against femicide reinforces this political reading.
In the same speech, Lula also defended the elimination of the 6×1 labor regime, presented recent federal government measures against gender violence, and announced that the Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA) will come into force the following week.
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The contradiction: Lula’s government legalized virtual casinos in 2023
The presidential speech generates an evident tension with recent legislative history. It was Lula’s own government that promoted and signed, in December 2023, the law that allowed the operation of online betting platforms in Brazil, including virtual casinos like Tigrinho.
The original project, presented by the Ministry of Finance under the leadership of Minister Fernando Haddad, had a more limited scope: to regulate only sports betting, known as ‘bets’, which were already operating in the country without a legal framework. However, during the process in the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Adolfo Viana (PSDB-BA) incorporated into the text the authorization for ‘online games’, a category that includes virtual casinos. The Senate tried to limit the rule exclusively to sports betting, but the Chamber restored the expanded provision before the final vote. Lula enacted the law without vetoing that modality.
The regulation of sports betting came into force in Brazil in January 2025. The change in the president’s stance (from regulator to promoter of a ban) occurred in just over two years and represents a notable shift in the Executive Power’s policy on online gambling.
What Lula proposes now and what the next steps are
The president did not present a concrete bill or a detailed legislative roadmap. His statement was limited to pointing out that the issue must be addressed by the National Congress and that the Executive will seek to coordinate a joint response with the three branches of the State to restrict or prohibit the operation of digital casinos in the country.
The effectiveness of this promise will depend, to a large extent, on the government’s ability to build majorities in Congress around a measure that, paradoxically, the government itself enabled just two years ago.
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