President Lula's statement was made during the event “In defense of democracy, fighting extremism”, at the UN headquarters in New York on the occasion of the Future Summit. The meeting was promoted by Brazil and Spain.
The release of fixed-odds betting occurred in 2018, at the end of Michel Temer's government. In recent months, however, the issue has gained prominence due to the increase in bets made by Brazilians.
A survey by the Central Bank (BC) showed that, in August alone, Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent R$3 billion (US$ 545m) on ‘Bets’ – as operators are called in Brazil - via Pix. The study was conducted at the request of Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM).
When commenting on the situation, Lula recalled that Brazil has always had laws against casinos and betting houses - “Brazil has always been against casinos, any type of gambling. Today, through a cell phone, gambling is inside the family home, in the living room,” said Lula.
“We are noticing in Brazil that the poorest people are getting into debt trying to make money, making bets. It is a problem that we are going to have to regulate,” he said.
The statement was made at the event “In Defense of Democracy: Fighting Extremism,” held in New York (USA) and organized by Lula and the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez (PSOE, center-left).
For the Brazilian president, the growing problem in gambling is monetization based on “lies.” “We are seeing madness. The monetization of lies through the digital network. With people becoming billionaires, millionaires. What we are seeing in a country like Brazil is gambling,” he declared.
He also said that the dissemination of this type of bet is based on lies: "We are seeing madness. The monetization of lies through the digital network. With people becoming billionaires, millionaires. What we are seeing in a country like Brazil are gambling games."
The data shows that the average spending by Bolsa Família beneficiaries was R$1.31 billion (US$ 238m) per month, or R$147 (US$ 27) per person. Of these people who gamble, 5.4 million (60.5%) are heads of households – who, in fact, receive the benefit – and sent R$6.23 billion (US$ 1.13bn) - 59.3% - via Pix to ‘Bets’.
Source: GMB
