By Igor Sodre and Marcela Ayres
SAO PAULO, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday announced a ban on online betting operations in Latin America’s largest economy and unveiled a new debt relief program aimed at households, the latest in a series of measures introduced ahead of next month’s election.
Opinion polls have shown Lula locked in a tight race with right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, ahead of the October 4 first-round vote.
The executive order bans online betting operations in Brazil, less than two years after the government kicked off a legal framework allowing the industry to operate. It takes immediate effect but must be approved by Congress…