Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has taken aim at the country's booming online gambling industry, signing an order to block sports betting and online casinos as he campaigns for another term in office.
The move comes just over a week before the first round of Brazil's presidential election, where Lula is facing Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula signed the provisional order on Friday, introducing measures that "prohibits all sports betting and online casinos".
Online gambling was legalised in Brazil in 2018 but has since grown rapidly, with the industry facing criticism over gambling addiction and the loss of household income.
Lula called online gambling a "cancer" and said "either we remove the tumour, or it kills us".
The president said the industry had expanded without adequate controls, particularly when it came to protecting children and teenagers from accessing betting platforms.
Lula acknowledged that online betting was introduced during the administration of former President Michel Temer but said it "grew without regulation under Bolsonaro's management".
He said there were "no restrictions" particularly for preventing children and adolescents from accessing online betting.
"We won't allow betting companies to profit at the expense of Brazilian families' income and lives," the president added.
Lula also referred to families affected by gambling addiction, saying he had heard accounts of people who had sold everything in their homes because of their betting problems.
The announcement comes as Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro enter the final stretch of the presidential campaign. Recent polls have placed the 80-year-old Lula almost level with his rival.
The provisional order will need approval from Congress within 120 days if it is to remain in force.
Lula has also signed a separate bill seeking to penalise criminal offences connected to fixed-odds betting.
The president raised the issue earlier this week during the United Nations General Assembly, where he accused the gambling industry of "transforming addiction into profit".
Flávio Bolsonaro rejected Lula's approach during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Reuters reported that he described the crackdown as "populist, hypocritical and politically motivated".
While Brazil bans most forms of gambling, including casinos and slot machines, online betting has become increasingly popular since its legalisation eight years ago.
A survey published this week by Atlas and Bloomberg found that 59.9% of Brazilian adults support banning internet betting.