Advocacy Groups Call for Betting Restrictions on Social Program Beneficiaries
Advocacy groups are actively pushing for betting restrictions on social program beneficiaries. Two organizations, Educafro and the Mônica Paião Trevisan Child and Adolescent Defense Center, have filed a public civil action in São Paulo’s Federal Court, urging sports betting platforms to restrict access for individuals enrolled in the Single Registry (CadÚnico) within 90 days. CadÚnico is the federal system used to manage social programs like Bolsa Família. The news broke on May 23 via Folha de S.Paulo’s Painel column.
The lawsuit targets the federal government, the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR)—which represents 13 prominent betting operators—and ten betting companies: Bet365, Betano, Betfair, Sportingbet, EstrelaBet, KTO, Superbet, VBET, Novibet, and Betnacional. The groups argue that these entities have failed to prevent access by families in CadÚnico, who depend on social welfare funds to address poverty and food insecurity, as reported by Congresso em Foco. Additionally, the plaintiffs demand that the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance provide betting platforms with the CPFs of Bolsa Família recipients within 15 days to block these individuals from creating accounts or placing bets.
The legal action references Central Bank data indicating that Bolsa Família beneficiaries transferred approximately R$3 billion to betting sites in August 2024 alone, with an average of R$100 per person. “These numbers are alarming and show the misuse of public funds intended to combat hunger and poverty,” wrote lawyer Márlon Reis.
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The lawsuit seeks R$500 million in collective moral damages from the betting companies and IBJR, with the funds earmarked to support vulnerable families. The groups also request that betting operators include warnings in their marketing, clarifying that social program funds cannot be used for betting and highlighting the social, economic, and psychological risks of gambling.
In April, Regis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Finance, told Estadão that the government plans to ban Bolsa Família and Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC) recipients from online betting, following a Federal Supreme Court ruling. This measure, affecting around 20 million families, would use beneficiaries’ CPFs to block access to betting platforms, regardless of the funds’ source. However, the restriction has yet to be enforced. Betting Restrictions Social Program Beneficiaries
