The proposal was brought to the Senate by Luis Carlos Heinze, who stated that it is a mechanism to safeguard the financial integrity of vulnerable sectors.
Brazil.- Senator Luis Carlos Heinze introduced a bill to prohibit recipients of social programs, such as Bolsa Família, and those registered in national credit protection records, such as SPC and Serasa, from participating in sports betting games. According to the lawmaker, the goal is to minimize the risk of default and prevent over-indebtedness among the "vulnerable" population, safeguarding the financial integrity of Brazilian families.
The senator based his information on data released by the Central Bank that shows that, in August of this year alone, Bolsa Familia beneficiaries spent R$ 3.000m (USD 520m) on bets, an amount equivalent to 20 percent of the total transferred by the program in that period. Despite this, in response to an inquiry from the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, the Central Bank explained that there are no guarantees that the disclosed data are reliable. Moreover, the report left gaps and also provoked reactions from industry executives, who accused the technical analysis of not taking into account the value returned in prizes. According to a survey commissioned by the betting sector, Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent R$ 210m (USD 36m) on bets in August, a figure significantly lower than that published by the bank.
Of the 20 million beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia, at least 5 million allocated part of their resources to betting, resulting in an average expenditure of R$ 100 per family. Additionally, the current regulations are, according to the senator, insufficient and have had a negative impact on families and the market.
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“The legislation generated revenues that were retained, but it is necessary to improve it to prevent the loss of social investment, addiction, and over-indebtedness. The initial data from the Treasury indicate the need for adjustments, and the bill I present today is a viable solution to the problem,” stated Heinze.
