Lula bans online betting, campaigns in Sao Paulo outskirts

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a provisional measure on Friday banning online betting across Brazil, calling the industry a "disease" called ludopathy that indebts the poor. Speaking at a campaign walk in São Miguel Paulista, São Paulo's east zone, Lula said "nobody gets rich betting; only the house owner gets rich." He urged anyone wanting to earn money to find an honest way.

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, São Paulo gubernatorial candidate Fernando Haddad, and Senate candidates Marina Silva and Simone Tebet joined the event. Lula framed the rally as the "walk for the end of the 6x1 work scale and the end of bets." He praised the two former ministers, saying São Paulo never had the chance to elect two women of such high moral and ethical qualification.

“Nobody gets rich betting on games. Who gets rich is the owner [of the betting house].”

Meanwhile, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro led a large motorcycle caravan in São João de Meriti, a poor municipality in Greater Rio de Janeiro. The dueling periphery events highlight the strategic importance of São Paulo and Rio, the two largest electoral colleges, eight days before the October 4 vote.

A Datafolha poll released Thursday shows Lula and Bolsonaro technically tied nationally at 40% and 36% for the first round, and 47% versus 45% in a runoff. In São Paulo, however, Bolsonaro leads 38% to 33% in the first round and 49% to 41% in a simulated second round.