Late last year, Brazil’s Supreme Court opted to exclude reimbursements of the Bolsa Familia Programme (PBF) and Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC) benefits from wagering with licensed operators. This came ahead of the launch of the ‘Bets’ regulated market on 1 January 2025.
The SPA began taking steps in April 2025 to ensure the exclusion was being adopted effectively. It has now followed this up with the creation of a database of PBF and BPC users which operators are required to consult during KYC checks, user registration and logins.
Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Finance, said: “To ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, it was necessary to develop a robust technical tool, carefully ensuring that the measure guaranteed the protection of the rights involved.
“Protecting citizens, their security, their rights, and their personal data are always objectives of the Brazilian Government.”
Betting, benefits and poverty reduction
Brazil’s betting market understandably generated a lot of hype, with the country hosting an adult population of just under 170 million, an estimated football fanbase of well over 100 million, and the world’s 10th largest economy by GDP.
It is also a country which faces various socio-economic challenges, however, which benefits like the Bolsa Familia were introduced to alleviate. Bolsa Familia in particular is one of the most widely claimed benefits in Brazil with over 54 million people receiving it, and has been praised as contributing significantly to the reduction of poverty rates in the country.
BPC, meanwhile, is provided to those 65 and older, and is claimed by some 5.8 million people. Collectively, the Supreme Court decision prevents around a third of Brazil’s population from betting legally.
Operators have been reminded by the SPA over the past few months that the welfare benefits exclusions must be strictly adhered to. On top of the PBF/BPC database, operators have been assigned other tasks.
Licensed betting firms are required to consult the Betting Management System (Sigap), the Ministry of Finance’s guidance around the use and submission of data by betting companies, when customers Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF) numbers.
Alexandre Amorim, President of Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro), which designed the Sigap system, said: “This measure reinforces the State’s commitment to the ethical use of technology and to building a transparent, safe, and socially fair betting market.
“Sigap is an example of how technology can be applied strategically to meet the needs of the State and society.”
Argentina may follow suite
The notion of excluding benefits recipients from gambling appears to be catching on, certainly in Latin America at least. Brazil’s neighbour Argentina, also a key betting market in South America, is also mulling up the prospect.
The Chamber of Deputies of Salta, a province in the northwest of Argentina, has approved a bill which will prevent people who receive Universal Child Allowance (AUH) from entering betting shops, racetracks, casinos and bingo halls.
Gustavo Dantur, one of the two Representatives to table the legislation alongside fellow lawmaker Daniel Segura, explained that ‘problem gambling affects us all’, adding that ‘this is not a moral issue, and it’s an issue of economic and social harm’.
“We have a moral duty to support this law,” he remarked – a sentiment that seems to have resonated with his fellow legislators, with only two out of the Chamber’s 60 deputies voting against the proposal.
Dingnews.com 02/10/2025