Zema promises to ban betting in the Presidency, but authorized betting in Minas Gerais.

Romeu Zema campaigns against betting with the slogan "enough of betting" and promises to ban it if elected president, but his administration as governor of Minas Gerais authorized the Minas Gerais Lottery to operate sports betting and online games under the domain Lotominas.bet. The contradiction was exposed during a debate held this Tuesday (August 25) by the newspaper O Globo, radio CBN and newspaper Valor Econômico.

The Novo party candidate's new stance on gambling was not included in his government plan and only gained traction in the campaign after Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) joined the ticket as his running mate. Girão is known for his opposition to gambling in the Federal Senate.

During the interview, journalist Malu Gaspar questioned Zema about the decree he issued in 2021 to include online games in the Minas Gerais Lottery, allowing sports betting. The candidate responded that his administration only followed federal rules and that any governor was subject to prosecution for malfeasance if they failed to ensure the maximization of state revenues. "I acted in accordance with federal law. I wasn't obligated to do it, but I could have been prosecuted for malfeasance," he stated.

The party adopts a different position from the candidate.

While Zema campaigns wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with "enough of bets" and compares gambling addiction to cocaine use, the Novo party has adopted more flexible positions on the sector throughout the recent legislative cycle. Earlier this year, the party's caucus in the Chamber of Deputies presented a bill to overturn a resolution by the National Monetary Council (CMN) that had restricted the predictive betting market, classified by the federal government as a form of gambling.

In February, during the voting on the Anti-Faction Bill, the Novo party allowed its members to vote freely on the amendments dealing with the taxation of betting. Deputy Marcel Van Hattem (Novo-RS) stated that, although he was against the betting market, he did not agree with increasing taxes on the sector. Another member of parliament from the party, Deputy Luiz Lima (Novo-RJ), stated in a hearing before the Chamber's Sports Committee that he was in favor of betting operations.

In a statement, the party said that "the decision is an individual one, respecting the conscience of each member," without imposing any party guidelines on the matter.

Claims without support from official data.

Zema's campaign against gambling was accompanied by statements that are not supported by official or scientific sources. On August 18, BNLData assigned the "Fake Seal" to the candidate after he stated that he promised to close gambling establishments as his first act in government and cited 180 suicide attempts and 10 million gambling addicts in Brazil.

The numbers are not supported by official information. For the estimate of 10 million addicts to be true, Brazil would have a gambling addiction rate 23 times higher than the world average, which would imply that 1 in 3 gamblers, or 32,4% of the total, would have a diagnosable gambling disorder, a percentage unparalleled in any substance or addictive behavior studied in the scientific literature.

Zema also stated that the federal government collects billions from betting without offering any support program for those dependent on gambling. The first part is verifiable: in 2025, the Union collected approximately R$ 9,95 billion in taxes paid by betting and gambling companies, according to the Federal Revenue Service. The second part, however, is false. Since March 2026, the SUS (Brazilian Public Health System) has maintained a specific psychological telecare service for gamblers and their families, with a capacity for up to 100 monthly consultations, accessible through the Meu SUS Digital app. This detail was the subject of a #FACT or #FAKE report in the newspaper O Globo.

In the same interview, Zema declared that, if elected, he intends to restrict or prohibit lotteries that depend exclusively on online sports betting. When questioned about the need for Congressional approval for the measure, the candidate said that he will at least try to impose stricter restrictions if he does not obtain parliamentary approval. He also excluded Caixa Econômica Federal from his list of privatizations.