Flávio Bolsonaro says Congress has deal to restore online betting

Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL candidate for the presidency, told the leadership of Grupo Globo that an agreement already exists in the National Congress for the return of online betting, according to a column by João Paulo Biage of O POVO+ published on Saturday 17 October and. According to the column, Bolsonaro said the remaining question is whether the return will include online casinos, such as the games known as "jogo do tigrinho" and "aviãozinho", which account for most of the sector's revenue.

The conversation took place on Friday 16 October at a lunch held hours before Bolsonaro's interview with the broadcaster, the column said. Those present included Grupo Globo president João Roberto Marinho and Paulo Tonet, the group's vice-president of institutional relations, as well as campaign coordinator senator Rogério Marinho of the PL-RN. According to the columnist, the release of betting was the main subject of the meeting.

O POVO reports that the prohibition of online betting, imposed by a provisional measure from president Lula, affected the group in two ways: it hit its own betting operation and cut advertising revenue on sports events and channels. Grupo Globo is a partner of MGM Resorts in Boa Lion, the joint venture that operates BetMGM in Brazil under a licence from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) since February 2025.

Citing sources at the broadcaster heard by the columnist, the report says the group was unable to replace the betting advertising money in the market because offers from other advertisers are considerably lower. Employees were reportedly told that this year there will be no monthly birthday celebrations and no traditional end-of-year party. According to the account, management presented the cuts as an alternative to a reduction in the profit-sharing scheme (PLR). The column does not give revenue or loss figures. BNLData said it found no statement from Globo about the cuts.

On the same day as the lunch, at a campaign event in Ipatinga (MG), Lula criticised the broadcaster and cited the provisional measure among the reasons for the group's dissatisfaction, saying he had ended betting and that Globo "had the bet". Globo responded that the meeting was institutional in nature and that the president would also have been received had he asked.

The column describes Bolsonaro's statement as the first concrete indication, attributed to the candidate himself, of how a possible PL administration would treat the betting market. It reinforces the signal that one of the alternatives under discussion is to resume sports betting while keeping online casinos closed. The second round of the presidential election is scheduled for 25 October.