Flávio Bolsonaro reported to call Flamengo president after Brazil bets ban

Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL presidential candidate, telephoned Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, the president of Flamengo, one day after the Lula government published a provisional measure banning bets in Brazil, citing a Folha de S.Paulo report based on three people linked to football and to the Bolsonaro campaign who spoke on condition of anonymity. According to those accounts, the senator indicated that, if elected, he would find a solution for football clubs and betting houses, but did not commit to restoring the authorisation for betting companies to operate again.

The call took place before the first round of the elections, a period in which Flávio was gaining in voting-intention polls against Lula. In the first round, the PL candidate finished ahead of the PT candidate with 47.03% of the vote against 45.16% for Lula, according to official data. The report says Flávio has not yet made clear whether he intends to support the return of online betting if he wins the second round. During the campaign he linked Lula to the jogo do tigrinho, a type of online casino, and stressed that he had voted against the regulation of the sector; at the same time he argued for a distinction between virtual casinos and sports betting and criticised the ban, saying it was made with, in his words, “uma caneta que agrediu a segurança jurídica, agrediu os clubes, diversas empresas” do setor.

The senator made a series of gestures towards the sector. On the day after the government's ban, he published a poll on X, without official character, suggesting that Flamengo supporters voted for him more than for Lula; the post appeared on the same day as the call with Bap. Days later, in an Instagram post, he encouraged the president of Santos, Marcelo Teixeira, to vote for him.

Flávio's campaign was contacted by email on 8 October for comment on the contact with the Flamengo president. The request was repeated on Tuesday 20 October and Wednesday 21 October, but there was no response. Flamengo's press office also did not comment. Bap was contacted directly by message and call from 30 September and likewise did not respond. Asked about a possible endorsement of the candidate by the club, Flamengo's press office denied any alignment: “O Flamengo não discute e não declarará apoio a nenhum dos candidatos”.

The Flamengo president has been the most active official in opposing the measure, according to the report. The club joined as a party to the action before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) examining the validity of Lula's provisional measure, which is reported by minister Luiz Fux. Flamengo also displayed a phrase against the ban in the main advertising space on the team shirt, previously reserved for betting advertising. Four people linked to football told the report that sector officials are generally politically sympathetic to Flávio and expect him to take decisions favourable to clubs if elected. Further contacts between the Bolsonaro campaign and Flamengo took place after the first round, according to people aware of the discussions.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has not taken a public side. Its president, Samir Xaud, however, organised a boycott of a meeting with the federal government convened less than a week after the publication of the provisional measure. According to reports, he spoke with club presidents and, while leaving each free to decide individually, made clear that he would not take part in the meeting.

Online betting was permitted under the Michel Temer government (2016-2018) and operated without regulation during the Jair Bolsonaro government (2019-2022). In 2023 the Lula government proposed and approved in Congress the regulation of the sector, with the aim of collecting taxes and setting rules for bets. The ban drew opposition from clubs and a backlash from sectors directly affected, such as football teams and media outlets dependent on betting advertising. A Datafolha survey of 1 October showed that most of the population supported ending betting, a practice associated with increased indebtedness and gambling addiction. After the first-round defeat, Lula began to avoid the subject, following his advisers' assessment that the political benefit of the measure was smaller than expected. The provisional measure still awaits consideration in the National Congress, and centrão lawmakers are considering releasing bets after the elections.