Foto: divulgação On July 31, the Ministry of Finance released an ordinance authorizing the operation of online gambling in Brazil as from 2025. With the decision, games such as Fortune Tiger, known as Tigrinho in Brazil, card games, and roulettes, which were illegal, are no longer prohibited. The new rule applies exclusively to online modalities. The offer of bets of this kind in physical format remains prohibited.
Experts, however, are concerned about this decision. “They are thinking more about the financial issue than about health,” says Carla Bicca, a psychiatrist specialized in addiction and coordinator of the Commission on Psychiatry of Addictions, of the Brazilian Association of Psychiatry (ABP).
According to the doctor, the number of young people with gambling addiction has been increasing a lot. Teenagers, aged between 14 and 16, reach out to the doctor asking for help to get rid of their addiction. The growth in occurrences coincides with the popularization of the Fortune Tiger game.
The game is an online slot machine, in which the player pays (bets) to activate a lever that spins three columns with different figures. If, when it stops, they show the same figure, the player wins a cash prize, according to the creators.
Under the new rules, platforms must pay back at least 85% of what they collect in prizes. For example, if the operator accumulates 100 thousand reais, it will have to distribute at least 85 thousand. In addition, they will not be able to make promises such as “triple pay soon” or allow the player to have a negative balance. “The person who is betting always thinks he will win next time and keeps playing”, explains Carla.
Even with the new rules, the risk of going wrong is great. Technology helps online casinos hook players. Recognizing potential user profiles and hacking their social networks. “Easy access makes it more difficult to get rid of the addiction,” says the doctor.
Another bait is influencers, paid to make videos in which they show the game as a joke or simulate big winnings and boast a life of luxury. According to the Alana Institute, minors from the ages of 6 to 17 are hired to promote the Fortune Tiger game, which is illegal.
| THE NEW FORTUNE TIGER RULES WHAT THE PLATFORMS WILL HAVE TO INFORM: – The multiplication factor (that determines how much the person betting will win). – The possibilities of winning. – How it is possible to win prizes (including the order and number of figures needed). WHAT THEY ARE FORBIDDEN TO DO: – Promise future gains, such as “triple payment soon”. – Force the person betting to choose a particular game. – Allow a negative balance on the platform. HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF The best way to prevent risks is information. Betting is no joke. “The more youngsters are aware of the risks, the more protected they will be”, says psychiatrist Carla Bicca. |
Sources: G1, UOL and Nexo.
