President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again warned the population about the danger of gaming addiction. In a ministerial meeting this Thursday (3), he discussed measures to reduce the impacts of sports betting and online games, known as bets, in cases of dependence and debt.
“There are a lot of people getting into debt, there are a lot of people spending what they don’t have. And we think this has to be treated as a dependency issue. In other words, people are dependent, people are addicted”, highlighted Lula, according to a note released by the Presidency after the meeting.
Since the first half of 2023, the government has been working on regulating sports betting and online gaming.
According to the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, two thousand irregular betting sites could be banned from October 11th. The addresses of these platforms will be blocked in Brazil.
Rules
Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad – Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil
On Wednesday (2), the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance published in the updated versions of the lists of fixed odds betting companies, bets (brands) and respective websites that can continue to operate until the end of this year at national and state level. In the national list, there are 93 companies with 205 bets respectively. The state lists have 18 companies.
In total, the government issued ten ordinances to regulate betting operations.
“These are ordinances that talk about technical issues, about fair gaming, certification, financial issues, mandatory use of the financial system, prohibition of credit cards, among others. Protection of the bettor in relation to minors, dependent people, issues of advertising and the issue of procedures. System monitoring, CPF by CPF monitoring of what is happening with each Brazilian citizen”, listed Haddad.
Bolsa Família
Another concern of the federal government is with users of Bolsa Família. Studies point to the use of the benefit for betting. Measures to restrict Bolsa Família for this purpose are under analysis.
For Minister Wellington Dias, from the Ministry of Social Development (MDS), care must be taken not to condemn the Bolsa Família public. “It’s a serious problem, all over Brazil, and that’s what the president wants us to deal with. And we are adopting measures, but being careful that they are not discriminatory towards this public”, said the minister.
Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade. Photo: José Cruz/Agência Brasil
The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, also participated in the ministerial meeting on betting and recalled that addiction to online betting “is a serious public health problem throughout the world”. “We are going to issue an ordinance for the ministries present here, precisely to strengthen this joint work and further measures that are necessary in this regulatory process, which is fundamental”, stated the minister.
“In terms of prevention, it is very important to reinforce this agenda, the education of children and young people in the Health at School program, which we resumed with the Ministry of Education. Educational campaigns are also essential”
During the ministerial meeting, ways to combat crimes committed by some online betting operators were also discussed. These include money laundering, currency evasion, tax evasion and links to organized crime.
Irregular and illegal advertising in football stadiums is also under analysis, based on the Consumer Protection Code.
