“Knowing that there are 190 authorized websites, Lula authorized the imposition of restrictions on payment methods, which may include the Bolsa Família card,” said the executive secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dário Durigan. “This will be discussed with the companies starting next week.”
He reiterated that blocking illegal websites starting next week will be essential to define the rules for the use of online games, including beneficiaries of the social program. The government ended up not adopting specific measures for any user, including Bolsa Família beneficiaries.
“The Bolsa Família public is protected by the suspension of illegal ‘Bets’ and now by the fine-tooth comb that will be carried out on authorized companies,” he said. “For now, the use of the Bolsa Família card has not been suspended,” he added.
Durigan recalled the ban on the use of credit cards in gaming, already announced by the card brands. “We anticipated the ban on credit cards,” he said.
The regulation of the betting market presented by the Ministry of Finance already provided for the prohibition of credit cards from January 2025, but the administrators anticipated and made the decision to prevent their use on betting sites.
The secretary said that the meeting focused on the list of regularized betting sites, released by the Ministry of Finance. “We are creating a negative list so that it can reach the authorities, especially the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), so that the sites can be taken down,” he said.
The Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, said that the Federal Police is combating criminal activities, such as money laundering. He stated that influencers who are children and adolescents cannot operate in this market.
Meeting
The meeting was attended by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Ministers Rui Costa (Chief of Staff), Fernando Haddad (Finance), Wellington Dias (Social Development), Nísia Trindade (Health) and André Fufuca (Sports) and Ricardo Lewandowski (Justice), as well as secretaries.
When opening the meeting, Lula said that he associated betting with addiction and Haddad predicted that 2,000 sites would be taken down.
“There are a lot of people getting into debt, a lot of people spending what they don’t have, and we think that this should be treated as a matter of dependency. In other words, people are dependent, they are addicted. We decided to hold the meeting, which is being attended by our Finance Minister, who has been trying to take care of this since we took office,” said Lula.
In his opening remarks, Haddad stated that there are already ten ordinances regulating gambling. “We are always using the best international experience to bring good practices to Brazil to address this issue, since, in our understanding, strong regulation will imply the protection of society, treating it as entertainment, as it should be,” he said.
Regarding the rules already defined by the Ministry, Haddad highlighted that “these are ordinances that address technical issues, what constitutes fair play, certification, financial issues, mandatory use of the financial system, prohibition of credit cards, among others. The ordinances also address the monitoring of users, CPF by CPF,” he explained.
The minister mentioned the need to regulate what requires broader decisions, which do not involve the Ministry of Finance and Sports, such as those involving the Ministry of Health, issues related to Bolsa Família and also those related to Justice.
“We have problems with chemical dependency, other types of dependency that are addressed by the Ministry of Health. This is a new challenge that arises with the virtual world and is being addressed using the best possible technique.”
Haddad said that 2,000 betting sites should be taken offline in the next few days. Since October 1, only betting houses that have requested authorization and have been authorized by the Treasury Department can offer games to Brazilians. Nationally, 93 companies that operate 205 betting sites have been authorized. Starting October 11, the websites of illegal companies will be suspended.
“In addition to what has been regulated, I need to listen to the other ministries so that we can complete the regulation, since in the next few days 2,000 websites will be taken offline, from the Brazilian virtual space, and will become inaccessible to citizens who are in the national space,” said Haddad.
Concern increased with BC study
Concern about the increase in online betting by the government increased last week, after the release of a survey by the Central Bank that showed that the average monthly spending of Brazilians with Pix for betting and gambling is around R$20 billion (US$ 3.7bn) this year. Particularly noteworthy was the estimate that, in August, 5 million Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent R$3 billion (US$ 550,000) on online gambling and betting.
A market regulation process is already underway, coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, based on a law approved last year. The rules will come into effect in January 2025, when the regulated online gambling market will begin.
Given the accelerated growth in gambling, even before the Central Bank's estimates were made public, the Treasury had already brought forward one of the stages, such as the case of authorized companies.
The regulation also provides for the prohibition of some payment methods, such as credit cards, and the creation of rules for advertising. These measures, however, will only come into effect in 2025. Regarding payment by credit card, the association that represents companies such as Visa, Mastercard and Elo decided to prohibit its use as of this month as well.
Source: GMB
