STF publishes list of participants in hearings on the betting market
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) released the list of participants in the public hearing that will debate the online betting market (bets) in Brazil.
The hearings are scheduled for Monday (11) and Tuesday (12).
The debates will be attended by federal government ministers, representatives of financial institutions and experts in the field.
Among the participants, according to the list released by the Court, are the Secretary of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, Régis Dudena; the Minister of Human Rights, Macaé Evaristo; the president of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), Bruno Dantas; in addition to representatives from the Ministries of Health, Social Development and Racial Equality.
Associations linked to the virtual betting sector must also be present, the Brazilian Psychiatric Association (ABP) and the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec). Check out the complete list here.
The public hearing was called by Minister Luiz Fux, rapporteur of the process that deals with the issue.
Also read:
- Fazenda announces partnership with international bodies to monitor the betting sector
- Lula: “If regulation doesn’t cope, I’ll put an end to betting”
- Alckmin: if the result of legalizing betting is not good, it should be banned
- Alckmin’s Ministry says that bets did not increase debt or bring down retail
- Pacheco confirms CPI das Bets in the Senate; find out how it will work
- “BC does not have any type of attribution regarding betting regulation”, says Galípolo
- Cármen Lúcia says that bets use “suckers”: “Abuse of one human being by another”
Regulation
The regulation of the betting market in Brazil is discussed in the Supreme Court through a Direct Unconstitutionality Action (Adin) filed on September 24th by the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC).
The entity questions Law 14,790/2023, a rule that regulated fixed-odd online betting. In the action, the CNC says that the legislation, by promoting the practice of gambling, causes negative impacts on less favored social classes. Furthermore, the entity cites the increase in family debt.
Lula: “If regulation isn’t enough, I’ll put an end to betting”
Last month, the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said that the government chose to regulate betting sites instead of banning them, but warned that so-called “bets” could be banned from the country if regulation is not enough to solve the problem.
“We’ll see if regulation can handle it. If regulation takes care of it, the problem will be solved. If I can’t handle it, I’ll finish (with the bets)”, said the president, in an interview with Metropolis Radiofrom Bahia.
“It’s to be very clear. You have no control over the humblest people, children with cell phones in their hands making bets. We don’t want that”, added Lula.
R$20 billion per month
According to a survey released by the BC, Brazilians spent around R$20 billion per month on bets between January and August 2024. In total, approximately 24 million people made at least one Pix for online betting companies in the first eight months of this year.
In August alone, it is estimated that 5 million people who belong to families benefiting from Bolsa Família sent R$3 billion to online betting companies, using Pix. The average amount spent per person was R$100.
(With Agência Brasil)
