In the first seven months of 2024, 25 million Brazilians started to place bets online. The data comes from a survey by the Locomotiva Institute, conducted in the first week of August. The rapid growth of betting apps, or ‘Bets’ as operators are called in Brazil, worries senators, who point out the risks of addiction and indebtedness among the population.
The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting (CPIMJAE) heard from the Secretary of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance, Regis Dudena, and the members of the committee demanded measures to curb potential problems with games.
In response to questions from senators, Dudena stated that the department is working to launch an awareness campaign about games this year and that, starting next year, companies authorized to operate sports betting should also join the campaign.
“This is a direct demand from Minister Fernando Haddad. We are working on the first steps of this campaign so that the population understands that betting is mere entertainment and that people will potentially lose money,” said Regis Dudena after questioning from the president of the CPI, senator Jorge Kajuru.
According to a survey cited by the CPI rapporteur, Senator Romário (PL-RJ), 80% of people who gamble have debts and 2% of the household budget of classes C, D and E is committed to gambling.
Currently, the secretariat has ordinances to regulate the sector, as pointed out by Dudena. One of them establishes limits on the time logged in, among other measures to protect gamblers and prevent over-indebtedness and problems related to gambling addiction. Also under analysis are 113 requests for authorization from companies to explore the sports betting market starting in January 2025.
“We imposed specific rules on all those agents who want to come and operate in Brazil to get to know their gamblers, monitor them, impose alerts in cases of gambling abuse, impose time restrictions and, ultimately, create blocks for these gamblers,” he pointed out.
Against the legalization of gambling, Senator Eduardo Girão stated that addiction to online gambling can be compared to a public health epidemic. Like Girão, Senator Carlos Portinho lamented the growth in gambling.
The voice of the consumer
Representing consumers in the betting market, Rodrigo Alves -president of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association (Abaesp) – defended the right of Brazilians to bet, but acknowledged potential risks. For Alves, one of the main problems is advertising.
“Cases of debt and problems come to us constantly. We are completely sensitive and agree that many people today are going too far, they don’t even know their own limits, and, in large part, it is due to somewhat unbridled advertising. We strongly believe in regulation, because there is no such thing as no gambling,” he said.
Regarding advertising, Regis Dudena pointed out that one of the ordinances provides that, as of January 1, all companies that are not authorized will be prohibited from advertising or sponsoring.
“The Ministry of Finance, as the national regulatory body on the subject, may notify companies to prohibit both advertising by companies and prohibit participants, that is, influencers, the so-called affiliates, from talking about unauthorized companies.”
Source: Agência Senado