SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Supreme Court of Brazil (STF) has made a direct intervention on the laws of the Bets regime, to ensure vulnerable groups are protected from gambling harms, ahead of the anticipated launch of Brazil federal online gambling marketplace in January 2025.
On Wednesday, Luiz Fux, Minister of the Brazilian Supreme Court, sanctioned an order on the Ordinance No. 1231 , demanding that articles be modified to ensure measures to prohibit online gambling with money from social programs.
The intervention further called for new articles to ensure that gambling cannot be advertised-or-promoted to Brazil’s youth (under-18s) across sports, sponsorships and media platforms.
In October, concerns were raised to the Senate regarding reports that Bolsa Família beneficiaries had spent BRL 3bn (€500m) on betting sites, as tracked through the government’s PIX payment system.
Bolsa Família is Brazil’s main welfare program, offering monthly BRL subsidies to support low-income families. According to the Central Bank, approximately 3 million families rely on Bolsa Família subsidies, benefiting around 50 million citizens.
“It seems that the current scenario of obvious insufficient protection, with immediate harmful effects, especially on children, adolescents and the family budgets of the beneficiaries of assistance programs, constitutes a manifesto periculum in mora [danger in delay], which must be eliminated immediately,” Fux said.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), has welcomed the actions of Fux, calling them “positive and necessary” and in line with the responsible market gaming policy.
“The ANJL highlights that both measures were already being defended by the bookmakers that are in the regulatory process in the country.
“Unlike companies that intend to remain outside the law from 2025, bets committed to honest and responsible gambling, including those associated with ANJL, do not tolerate the advertising of bets on minors or the use of resources that have the potential to financially harm minors and more vulnerable Brazilian families,” the ANJL was quoted by SBC Noticias.
Ordinance No. 1231 represents the last column in the construction of the upcoming Bets regime’s framework. It was submitted to the government for review in August by Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA).
Earlier this year, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance set out a four-phase action plan to effectively transfer the regulatory duties for the upcoming Bets regime over to SPA. The plan included SPA’s commitment to producing a number of ordinances concerning the technicalities, sanctioning and supervisory rules for the new landscape.
With SPA having already published its ordinances on IT securities, AML, and licensing duties, Ordinance No. 1231 is part of the final groundlaying work, setting out the regulatory rules for the marketing, communications, and advertising of the Bets market.
Final assessments saw the Senate sanction two separate Commission of Inquiry (CPI) investigations aimed at reviewing the laws, standards, and protections of the Bets regime following its launch.
Senator Soraya Thronicke will lead the ‘CPI of Bets’ evaluating the financial impact of online gambling on Brazilian citizens, communities, and family finances.
A separate ‘CPI of Integrity’ will be led by Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) as chair and Senator Romário (PL-RJ) as rapporteur examining the impact of online gambling on Brazilian sports integrity and protections against match fixing.
