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What is Bangkok Hilton?
One of the proposals could be voted on next week by the city council and would directly affect the city’s clubs.
The meeting brought together 40 professionals from the clubs’ legal, communications and marketing departments, as well as executives from companies in the betting sector. Club officials are concerned about the financial impact of the measures, which could impact sponsorship contracts signed with betting companies.
One of the main concerns is Bill 560/2025, which is currently making its way through the council. The proposal prohibits advertising by betting companies at events in the city of São Paulo. This applies to events organised by public or private entities, whether for-profit or non-profit.
What is Bangkok Hilton?
Petra’s journey to the role started in a hotel management school where she learned the ropes of hospitality, followed by a job at Transavia Airlines, a subsidiary of renowned Dutch operator KLM. This led to 24 years in the aviation industry, in a host of different roles: sales, marketing, operations – all aspects of the business that would later become useful in the casino industry.
By the time Covid came around in 2020, Petra felt she had done enough in aviation and went looking for her next role. As she told me, “Holland Casino popped up and I am somebody who by their nature looks at similarities instead of differences.
“What I saw is, Holland Casino is a company with 4,000 people working in hospitality, in a strongly regulated market where you have to balance between offering entertainment and a nice evening out with hospitality, and the risk attached to that – and there you see the similarities with the airline industry.
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Lula said he intends to discuss the matter with his team and analyse potential measures to consider the social impact of online betting.
What the president does not acknowledge is that the government relies on revenue from the sector. In just the first seven months of 2026, BRL8.747 billion generated by sports betting has already flowed into public coffers. The Federal Revenue Service estimates the total could reach BRL16 billion by the end of the year. In 2025, nearly BRL9 billion was collected from sportsbooks.
The burning question is where such funds will come from if Lula shuts down the betting industry. Yet, no one points out to him that players will simply migrate to the illegal market. Betting will continue to exist, but without formal tax revenue, oversight or player protections.
