Foto: Getty Images The Central Bank of Brazil (BC) carried out a survey for the first time to determine Brazilians’ spending on online betting in 2024. The numbers, released on September 25, are frightening: per month, the average amount spent by the population on these apps ranged between 18 billion reais and 21 billion reais. The data only includes payments made with Pix (automatic transfers). Credit cards, which are used to pay 10% to 15% of bets, were not included in the calculation.
The survey also showed that 17% of those who receive Bolsa Família* are using part of the money they receive on these apps. In August alone, they transferred 3 billion reais to virtual betting houses, which represents 20% of the total that is transferred by the program every month.
For many of these families, the appeal of gambling is the promise of quick money, a temporary solution to debt or emergencies, but which often results in a cycle of compulsion and debt.
On alert
The data sounded an alarm in the government and in the productive sector. This is because the money spent on betting is no longer used to buy other items, such as food and clothing. According to the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), online betting withdrew 1.1 billion reais from commerce in the first half of the year alone.
In the financial sector, the concern is with the increase in debts. The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) is concerned with a possible debt bubble and defends that the use of Pix to pay for this service should be forbidden.
To try to contain the advance of betting, the government is preparing restrictive measures for the sector. One of them, announced by Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance, will be the prohibition of the use of the Bolsa Família card. “We will also monitor the evolution of betting person by person, to avoid two things: those who bet a lot and win little may be psychologically dependent on gambling; and those who bet little and win a lot, in general, are money laundering,” said the minister in an interview for CBN radio, on September 30.
Betting companies, in turn, have banned the use of credit cards for the payment of gambling since October 1st, anticipating government regulation that would be effective as from 2025.
| X-RAY OF ONLINE BETTING – 24 million people made at least one bet in the month of August. – The average gambler is 20 to 30 years old. – 100 reais is the average value of bets made by younger people – 3 thousand reais is the average value of bets made by older people – 3 billion reais were spent by beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program. |
NT: Bolsa Família: Government program where low-income families receive cash transfers dependent on certain conditions.
