Brazil launches interministerial working group to tackle problem gambling

Today (9 December), the Brazilian government announced the launch of the Interministerial Working Group on Mental Health, Prevention and Reduction of Harm from Problem Gambling.

The group will include representatives from the Ministries of Sport, Finance, Health and the Social Communication Secretariat. It aims to propose “prevention, assistance and awareness” measures to tackle problem gambling in Brazil.

The group will have 60 days to propose such measures, which will be coordinated between the ministries. Meetings will be held every two weeks and may reexamine existing policies and administrative actions, as well as suggesting regulatory actions to the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).

“The focus is on developing strategies to prevent, mitigate harm and offer support to individuals and communities affected by compulsive gambling practices or in vulnerable situations, considering the context of fixed-odds betting,” the group said in a press release.

It comes as the legal market’s launch on 1 January 2025 faces rising fears over the impact of gambling in Brazil.

Measures have been taken to immediately implement restrictions on advertising and betting using social welfare. The constitutionality of the betting laws themselves was even scrutinised during a two-day hearing at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in November.

Working group follows other problem gambling measures

Aside from the restrictions on advertising and betting using social welfare money, the Ministry of Finance has also banned the use of credit cards for gambling. Facial recognition technology is also now mandatory for ID verification.

However, the industry in Brazil still faces criticism amid accusations over its harmful impact on the financial and social health of the population, while the illegal market is still posing a problem.

In November, the National Association of Games and Lotteries claimed there were still over 2,000 illegal betting sites live in Brazil, despite the government sending a list of over 5,200 domains to be blocked by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).

The Anatel president Carlos Baigorri himself compared the agency’s attempts at blocking sites to “mopping up ice”, citing a need for increased powers to help it tackle the problem.

Did long road to Brazil’s legal market launch contribute to current challenges?

Many in the industry feel the ongoing issues of problem gambling and illegal operators have been caused by the long delay between the National Congress’ first approval of legislation for online betting in March 2018 and the Chamber of Deputies’ final green light in December 2023.

In its announcement of the working group’s launch, the federal government agreed the delay, combined with the “uncontrolled growth” of gambling in Brazil, has caused issues.

“Since the legalisation of fixed-odds betting in 2018, the lack of clear regulations has allowed the market to expand without proper supervision,” the announcement said. “This has had negative impacts, such as exposing players to abusive practices and increasing cases of addiction.

“Recognising the gravity of the situation, the federal government decided to implement stricter regulations for the operation of the sector, prioritising the mental health of bettors.”