TCU will monitor the impact of betting on health and the economy
The Federal Audit Court (TCU) approved, this Wednesday (2), the inspection of the impacts of bets on public health and the purchasing power of Brazilian families. The president of the TCU, minister Bruno Dantas, stated that the external control action, which is within the competences of the Court of Auditors, will allow a broad assessment of the topic.
“The TCU is one of the few bodies that can request data from the Central Bank, Federal Revenue, Caixa Econômica, CadÚnico and the Unified Health System, for example. By crossing information, it is even possible to assess the impact on the health of Brazilians and on SUS services”, said Dantas, in a note.
The federal government is moving to regulate the operation of fixed-odds betting on sporting events. In a note, the TCU pointed out that the betting market should move between R$90 billion and R$130 billion in 2024, according to a report by XP Investimentos published in September this year.
Last week, the Central Bank reported that 5 million people who belong to Bolsa Família beneficiary families spent R$3 billion on bets via Pix. “The significant amount of resources demands control action by the Court”, pointed out the court.
“The federal government’s action that will be supervised by the TCU aims to establish policies, procedures and internal controls to prevent illicit activities such as money laundering, theft of bettors’ data and the involvement of minors”, said the Court of Auditors.
Actions to regulate bets
In addition to the TCU and the government, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) will discuss the application of the “bets law” in a public hearing with authorities and entities scheduled for next month.
The Ministry of Finance released, on Tuesday night (1st), the list of companies that are authorized to explore bets in the country. Companies that do not appear on the folder’s list can no longer operate betting in Brazil, until they obtain authorization from the government.
According to the TCU, a study by bank Itaú estimates that Brazilians spent R$68.2 billion on bets between July 2023 and July 2024. In this case, in the balance between wins and losses, bettors lost R$23, 9 billion.
