Bolsa Família beneficiaries spend more than R$100 per month on sports betting, says Datafolha – 01/14/2024 – Sports

Datafolha research on so-called bets shows that 17% of beneficiaries of Bolsa Família — the federal government’s income transfer program aimed at low-income people — said they bet or have already placed online sports bets.

Of this percentage, similar to that of the general population (15%), almost a third report spending or having spent more than R$100 per month on websites.

Six out of every ten gamblers benefiting from the income transfer program say they bet more than R$50 per month — among those who do not receive the grant, the proportion is 4 out of every 10.

A Sheet showed that the phenomenon of online betting is widespread across the country, with greater adoption among young people and men.

In December, Bolsa Família transferred an average of R$680.61 to more than 21 million families.

The research was carried out on December 5, 2023. There were 2,004 face-to-face interviews in 135 municipalities, with people aged 16 and over from all regions. The margin of error is 2 percentage points from bottom to top, with a confidence level of 95%.

The offer of sports betting sites has been permitted in Brazil since 2018, following a law approved during the Michel Temer (MDB) government, but the topic was not regulated by the Executive as it should have been.

From then on, betting advertisements began to dominate the free-to-air TV schedule, especially during football games. Social networks were also flooded with advertisements for gambling games, made viral by the actions of famous influencers.

The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had four years to regulate the market, but did not do so. Thus, the number of betting houses aimed at the Brazilian public exploded without there being clear rules for operating in this sector, nor specific supervisory and controlling bodies for the activity.

The Lula (PT) government started working on regulation since last year. A new law has already been approved to define the taxation and operation of these companies, which must also be accredited to operate in Brazil — currently, companies that offer online betting in the country are based abroad.

Full regulation should be finalized in the first half of the year. The legislation deals with so-called fixed odds games, in which you know how much you can win with a bet (based on the results of a football game, for example).

During the processing of the sports betting bill in the Chamber, deputies included in this category, in addition to sports betting, also online games, which include casinos and other games of chance in a virtual environment. It is estimated that up to 80% of the sector’s turnover comes from this type of activity.

Critics fear that this could spread a series of websites that offer popular betting games that work outside this logic, with promises of exorbitant prizes or fraudulent algorithms.

There are currently investigations into cases of this type, and it should be up to the Treasury to determine which types of games can or cannot operate.

It’s been nine months since motorcycle courier Dalton da Silva Gomes, 28, started playing games on his cell phone. Between one delivery and another, he plays on a website where he bets while a small plane takes off — he has to stop betting before it explodes.

“The more we get involved, the more involved we become. You earn R$300 at once, but then you lose it every tenth until it’s all gone,” he says, who works in Brasília and until last year was a beneficiary Bolsa Família.

“I started playing to calm other anxieties and addictions, but I want to stop. I’ve already lost R$400.00 this year alone”, he says. Money that is missing from your monthly income, equivalent to less than two minimum wages.

Also living off motorcycle deliveries in the federal capital, Wanderson Junior, 24, says he placed bets seduced by advertising and easy access.

“I started playing after I saw ads on Instagram that said ‘change your life’, these very sensationalist ads. Then I fell for it”, says he, who says he stopped playing a month ago. Before that, he lost R$100.00, he reports. “Luckily I put in the money I had left, and it didn’t bother me too much.”

Datafolha data shows that the prevalence of gamers is widespread regardless of occupation. While the average number of people who have already bet or continue to bet is 15% of the population, among the unemployed it is 16%, a percentage equal to that recorded among those who declared themselves self-employed, such as Dalton and Wanderson.

When segregating Datafolha data by region, the reach of betting sites remains practically stable, with a greater variation in the Northeast: 18% of the population in this region says they have already placed bets or continue to place bets.

Doctor and researcher Daniel Spritzer, from the Study Group on Technological Additions, in Rio Grande do Sul, says that the high reach of betting sites is due to the ease of playing via cell phone, the advertising boom and, above all, because it involves universes with many lovers without necessarily having a direct association with gambling.

“In terms of betting, two elements have radically changed the scenario: because they manage to capture an audience that likes video games and games, which is very large, and the audience that likes sports, which is also gigantic”, says Spritzer, who is researcher at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul).

Doctors and support groups for game addicts are already reporting that the profile of those seeking help has been increasingly younger. Almost a third (30%) of young people aged 16 to 24 say they have already bet. The proportion is double the general average.

A law approved after sending a provisional measure by the Lula (PT) government brings items related to responsible gambling, concern with advertising only to minors and allocation of resources to the SUS (Unified Health System) for prevention, control and mitigation of social harm arising from gaming.

Federal Public Ministry attorney Alfredo Falcão says that companies authorized to explore betting must comply with the terms of the legislation, such as carrying out adequate advertisements without the promise of impossible gains. “It is important that consumer protection is present in the regulation of sports betting,” he states.

The president of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, Andre Gelfi, stated that it is essential that authorities create a standard of conduct for the industry in regulation.

“It makes no sense for the industry to approach a vulnerable public without any rigor. Brazil is an unequal country and it is up to the sector to take this type of precaution when offering products that can generate unwanted consequences.”