The Federal Savings Bank is preparing to enter the online betting market and plans to launch its own bet in April 2025. Preparations had been underway before the federal government intensified a movement of criticism and prepared measures to prevent the uncontrolled use of this type of game. The bank will hold a tender to choose a partner. The government is considering changing the cardholder of the Bolsa Família program who makes bets.
The public bank decided that it will only enter the market after the completion of the regulation. The Ministry of Finance will finalize by the end of the year all the stages of defining the rules for the games, most of which will come into effect in January 2025 — part of the ordinances start to take effect this week. Initially, the bank's focus will be on sports betting.
The subsidiary Caixa Loterias was one of the 120 companies that asked the Ministry of Finance for authorization to operate in the online games and betting market in the country. From October 1st, only these companies will be able to continue operating legally in the country, but Caixa decided to wait for the end of the regulation and formal authorization to enter the market.
This subsidiary was created by the bank to manage the lottery outlets, which includes the traditional bets of Mega-Sena and other products.
To enter the betting business, Caixa Loterias will hold a competition to choose a partner, who will be the holder of the main betting technology. This partner will provide the platform responsible for probabilities, results of real events (such as football games) and other characteristics necessary for the offer of bets.
Bets also in lottery outlets
The player makes their bets, which are remunerated — if correct — according to probabilities. Bank executives explain that it is common in this market to have an operator behind the interface seen by the user. It is also in the bank's plans to allow, in addition to online bets, players to risk their guesses at fixed points, in lottery houses.
Caixa holds the monopoly on the exploitation of lottery games in the country and in the first half of the year collected R$ 12.3 billion with these games. In the same period last year, the collection was R$ 10.34 billion.
Caixa expects that the collection with bets will initially be about 50% of what Loterias Caixa obtains in traditional games. With the maturity of the operation, the trend is for the value to grow, expect the bank's directors. Therefore, following these estimates, the collection would revolve around R$ 12 billion per year.
These projections were made before the Central Bank released, last week, a first portrait with official data of this market. The BC study, requested by Senator Omar Aziz, pointed out that, between January and August this year, there was a transfer via Pix between R$ 18 billion and R$ 21 billion per month to gaming houses.
The Central Bank document also showed that the largest number of bettors is in the 20 to 30 age group, although the average amount spent is higher for those over 50 years old. With this, Caixa hopes that entering the betting market will bring a new audience. The consumer profile of the lotteries is people over 45 years old. For executives of the institution, there would be no competition between lotteries and bets because they are distinct audiences.
Monitoring by CPF
Caixa also foresees measures to have what it considers responsibility with the bettor. The betting platform must have a lock and alerts for those who are spending too much on the games, in addition to guidance on expenses.
This week, President Lula should present actions with the aim of preventing people's indebtedness and trying to keep the most vulnerable away from the games. The list of measures includes blocking the Bolsa Família card for payment on these platforms.
In addition, a possibility under analysis is to transfer the ownership of the benefit to another family member, in case the cardholder is using the money for games. According to the Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Wellington Dias, the monitoring of bettors will be done by CPF.
“The rule will prevent payment or debit on the Bolsa Família card. There will also be monitoring by the use of CPF. After checking the CPF of the benefit, if the resources were used improperly, we can change the holder or suspend cash disbursement and assist the family with a solidarity kitchen or food basket”, said the minister to Globo.
According to technicians familiar with the matter, blocking the debit function of the Bolsa Família card for some channels like bets is the easiest measure to apply because it does not depend on the approval of a law in Congress. Already, the restriction of program resources to basic baskets, for example, would require legal changes because it represents a change in the profile of the benefit.
This technician explains that the adoption of measures such as preventing the use of resources in games needs to take into account legal aspects, as the rights of the beneficiaries need to be equal to those of other citizens. There can be no discrimination or criminalization, he stated.
Scratch card back
Caixa is also preparing to launch, in the middle of this month, the instant lottery, the popular “scratch card”. It will be possible to scratch the ticket manually at lottery outlets, as in the past, and also virtually, using a tool on the cell phone, which simulates a finger scraping the surface. The ticket will cost between R$ 2.50 and R$ 20.
The prize will be proportional to the cost of the bet and will vary between R$ 2.50 and R$ 2 million. By law, prizes above R$ 2,259 can only be redeemed at Caixa agencies.
Caixa marketed the scratch card between the 1960s and 2015, when the betting model was suspended by determination of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), which contested the legality of the way it had been done in the country. After a series of comings and goings, the bank regained authorization to operate the scratch card.
Source: O Globo
