Government studies creating a booklet on gambling addiction

According to Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets – an agency of the Ministry of Finance, the federal government is studying the creation of a booklet on addiction and dependence on betting to publicize the harms of the practice after the regulation of the segment, which should be completed by the end of this year.

According to Dudena, the idea is for the Finance and Health departments to exchange information to develop joint policies. An interministerial working group will be created to address the issue.

“This interaction will allow us to receive technical information and use it in our relationship with bookmakers,” said Dudena in an interview given to Poder360an excerpt of which was published this Friday (20).

Furthermore, according to Dudena, betting houses will be subject to a form addressing customer health issues to help prepare the government’s guide.

The expectation is that the government will prepare reports based on data collected from betting houses on user consumption, such as screen time and online frequency.

Haddad says interest in regulation is to “fight the pandemic of dependency”

On Tuesday (17), when talking to journalists, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, denied that the government’s efforts to regulate betting and companies bets aim to increase revenue.

According to the minister, the objective is to combat what he called the “pandemic of psychological dependence” on games.

Haddad said he has received reports from the Ministry of Health about gambling addiction.

The minister also stated that the government is carrying out the process in stages. After the regulation, according to Haddad, there will be regulations on advertising and the non-use of credit cards and “credit to gamble”.

Ministry of Finance ordered the suspension of betting companies

Also on Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance published an Ordinance that determines the suspension of the activities of fixed-odds betting companies that have not requested authorization to operate in Brazil. The companies will be suspended from October 1, 2024.

According to the ordinance, only betting companies that are already in operation and have requested authorization will be able to continue operating until December.

Regulation of the betting market in Brazil will come into effect from January 1, 2025.

Bets hits back at criticism over compulsion and debt

Amid criticism of the negative impacts of online gambling, a group of betting operators has released an open letter to clarify their position, in which they reinforce that they are committed “to protecting consumers, transparency and combating any harmful practices”.

In the letter, the operators mention that Brazil has operated with an unregulated betting market since 2019, which has allowed both reputable companies and operators not committed to integrity to enter.