For now, the Lula government has backed down from blocking the Bolsa Família card for bets. Before the meeting of ministers with the president at the Planalto on online betting, there was an expectation of a specific announcement for beneficiaries who have become indebted due to online sports betting. However, the government's assessment is that it is better to wait and see how the measures already announced by the Ministry of Finance may impact the market.
This week, about 2,000 illegal sites will be taken down. Additionally, the Federal Police is investigating money laundering by criminal organizations using CPFs of beneficiaries, which could inflate the numbers of indebted individuals.
The Ministry of Finance updated this Thursday (3) the list with all the online betting companies authorized to operate in Brazil until December. Now, there are 205 sites linked to 93 companies at a national level and another 22 with state licenses.
The bets left out of the list published by the Finance cannot provide betting games in Brazil until they obtain the final authorization from the government – except for the betting houses that operate with state concessions.
The Ministry of Finance recommends that users withdraw the money deposited on betting sites that will cease to operate. The deadline for withdrawing the funds is October 10.
The executive secretary of the Finance, Dario Durigan, stated that Lula authorized members of the department to dialogue with these authorized platforms "to impose restrictions, the toughest ones possible, on any payment methods, which may include the Bolsa Família".
"The concern to protect the Bolsa Família, which is our main one, is met by the blocking of these more than 2,000 sites, which is our expectation for next week, and the direct contact [with the companies] from the fine-tuning, starting next week", he added.
Another measure that the government hopes will have an impact is the prohibition of using credit cards for online betting.
The decision to do nothing targeted at beneficiaries at this time was motivated, according to reports from meeting participants, by a fear of not stigmatizing them, as reported by Folha. But the idea is to wait and see the impact of the measures announced so far on the most vulnerable.
The main concrete measure of the meeting was the issuance of an ordinance to create an interministerial working group. Government members say this was the first of other meetings, and that the next should occur in two weeks.
Minister Nísia Trindade (Health) compared the situation of the bets with the anti-smoking campaign in Brazil. She said there will be a focus on mental health, on psychosocial care, in addition to suggesting a change in the international classification of diseases to include online games.
Ricardo Lewandowski (Justice) highlighted the ongoing investigations by the Federal Police into money laundering involving betting companies. He also said that the National Consumer Secretariat will investigate the existence of underage influencers advertising for bets, which is irregular.
At the beginning of the meeting, the president said that the indebtedness with online sports betting, the bets, is a "matter of dependency", an addiction of the bettors.
Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) presented to the head of the Executive, subsequently, the forecast of taking down 2,000 betting sites in the coming days, after the publication of the list of companies authorized to operate by the department.
The initial estimate given by the minister, on Monday (30), was that 500 to 600 sites would be taken down by Anatel. However, sector entities claimed that there are at least 1,500 irregular sites - almost all operated by foreigners without legal representation in the country. The addresses are expected to start being blocked from the next day 11.
"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 matter of dependency, that is, people are dependent, people are being addicted", said Lula at the beginning of the ministerial meeting to address the issue.
"Beyond what has been regulated, I need to hear from the other ministries so that we complete this regulatory process, since in the coming days, 2,000 sites will go offline, will leave the Brazilian virtual space, they will become inaccessible to the citizen who is in the national territory", Haddad said next.
The meeting was closed, but the initial statements were released by Secom (Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency). The meeting was attended by at least six ministries, in addition to Finance: Social Development, Health, Development, Industry and Commerce, AGU, Civil House, and Justice. The director-general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, also attended the meeting.
President Lula has been showing indignation with the impact of the bets on the accounts of the poorest population and with the rise in indebtedness of Brazilians. Technical analysis by the Central Bank showed that, in August alone, people served by Bolsa Família transferred R$ 3 billion to sports betting companies via Pix.
Source: FolhaPress
