Minister Jhonatan de Jesus also demanded information on signs of irregularities in the use of funds in ‘Bets’, as operators of sport betting and iGaming are called in Brazil. In the document, he highlights the possible violation of the law that governs Bolsa Família and the lack of oversight in the sector.
Jesus warned of the need for technical solutions aimed at operationalizing the prohibition of resources from social programs in these games.
“The allocation of resources to gambling, an activity that does not contribute to meeting basic needs or overcoming poverty, violates these objectives and compromises the effectiveness of the public social assistance policy.”
Last week, the Attorney General's Office appealed to the Supreme Federal Court against a decision that ordered the federal government to adopt measures to prevent Bolsa Família beneficiaries from investing resources in gambling.
The agency said that the government does not have the technical tools to prohibit this type of spending, since it is not possible to identify the amounts coming from the benefit among other deposits in families' bank accounts. The AGU also claims that, after the transfer of the resource, the money becomes the beneficiary's and the government loses the ability to control its allocation.
Also last week, the minister spoke out about gambling, indicating that the Ministry of Finance should hold a public tender to grant authorizations so that gambling can operate regularly in the country.
Source: GMB / Carta Capital
