Lula's government is considering banning betting sponsorships for projects under the Rouanet Law.

The Lula government is considering issuing a decree or proposing a legislative change to prohibit fixed-odds betting companies, known as "bets," from sponsoring cultural projects financed by the Rouanet Law. This information was released by the Secretary for Promotion and Incentives to Culture at the Ministry of Culture (MinC), Thiago Rocha.

The discussion is being led by the legal departments of the Executive branch and should involve different ministries, according to Rocha in an interview with Jota.info . The initiative is part of a broader offensive by the Lula administration against the betting sector, which has gained prominence in the electoral debate in recent months.

The Ministry of Culture's main concern is not the money from betting companies reaching the cultural sector, but the use of incentivized events as advertising showcases for these platforms. "The ministry is joining this line of thought. If the entire government is moving in this direction, it wouldn't be reasonable to have the name of a betting company appearing on the stage of cultural events funded by the federal government or through the Rouanet Law," declared the secretary.

Rocha emphasized that the measure is aligned with other federal actions restricting advertising by betting companies. "It's less about betting companies investing or putting money into culture and more about using culture as a platform for propaganda," he stated.

Interministerial process

The legal framework for the restriction is not yet defined. The secretary made it clear that the Ministry of Culture cannot act alone. “It’s not possible for our ministry to change the rule overnight with the stroke of a pen. To impose a ban on a category, there is a legal framework. It requires a legislative amendment, a decree, and that demands interministerial work,” Rocha stated.

Internal surveys by the ministry indicate that the participation of betting companies in financing projects through the Rouanet Law is still small compared to other sponsoring groups. Companies in this sector appear in relatively insignificant positions among the largest supporters, whether by segment, category, or cultural area.

According to the secretary, the sector's current low presence limits the risk of financial impact on producers and artists in the event of a ban. Given that betting companies are a recent addition to financing incentivized projects, Rocha considers this the right time to establish rules, before the practice becomes entrenched.

Next cycle and future rules

Any new regulation will not have retroactive effect. Projects already sponsored by companies in the sector before the change will not be reviewed by the ministry due to the new restriction.

The deadline for submitting proposals to the Rouanet Law in 2026 ends in October. Rocha expects the new rules to come into effect in the next project submission cycle, in 2027.