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Lula Summons Caixa Chief Over State-Run Betting Plan, Puts Launch at Risk

The meeting follows a week of backlash over a public bank entering online gambling despite only technical clearance from the Finance Ministry.

Lula e o presidente da Caixa, Carlos Vieira: chefe do Executivo ficou irritado com anúncio de lançamento de bet própria do banco estatal
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Overview

  • President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet next week with Caixa president Carlos Vieira after demanding explanations for the bank’s proposed online betting platform.
  • Carlos Vieira announced the platform on October 20 with a target launch by the end of November and projected 2026 revenue of R$2 billion to R$2.5 billion.
  • The Finance Ministry’s Prizes and Bets Secretariat granted formal, technical approval for the project, which did not address political considerations.
  • O Globo reports Vieira intends to defend the plan to Lula, arguing it would recapture wagers now flowing to unauthorized foreign sites and bolster Caixa revenues weakened by falling lottery intake.
  • Consumer group Idec condemned the move as contrary to Caixa’s social mission, opposition senators vowed legal action to block a state betting site, and the government plans to resend a bill to raise taxes on bets as regulators have already barred betting via Bolsa Família and BPC accounts.