The regulation of the sports betting market was the topic of a meeting at the Palácio do Planalto last week. During the meeting, Lula and his ministers discussed, for instance, the possibility of the administration preventing Bolsa Família beneficiaries, a vulnerable group, from betting on these platforms, as they could be susceptible to debt.
After the meeting, however, the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dario Durigan, explained that, for now, there will be no block on the use of the Bolsa Família card for betting purposes.
The issue, he said, will be analyzed starting this week, when around 2,000 betting websites not included on the government’s positive list are expected to be blocked.
Previously, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services refuted, in a technical note, information claiming that spending on online sports betting had caused a decline in retail and increased population debt.
The Ministry, led by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, also questioned conclusions from the Central Bank regarding family spending on betting platforms.
The Ministry of Development's document argues that the country’s commercial data does not indicate a slowdown in the sector. The technical note, signed on October 4th, presents data on the retail sector’s performance.
"The data provided by IBGE shows that commerce in Brazil is growing, with retail sales showing the following variations: In July 2024, sales grew by 0.6% compared to June. In the first half of 2024, retail trade accumulated a 5.3% increase. In the 12 months leading up to July, retail trade accumulated a 3.7% increase."
In the technical note, the Ministry of Development also states that "it is even more complex to attribute any variations in the sector’s results to spending on betting and gambling," even questioning data presented by the Central Bank in a note sent to Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM).
Source: GMB
