Bets arrived overwhelmingly in Brazil. They have become almost ubiquitous at sporting events, in the sponsorship of celebrities or influencers with powerful internet profiles. The game is just a cell phone screen away and the number of bets annually exceeds 110 million, which makes us the world champion in this electronic modality, ahead of the United States.
It is a market that generates income, taxes, jobs and finances various activities in the country. However, there is another side of the coin. Every day, there are millions of people who, in the dream of achieving a better life, bet on what they have and what they don’t have, handing over billions of reais to these companies. There are cases of devastating addictions in which compulsive gamblers lose all their wealth. If we do not look into the matter and seek an urgent negotiated solution – whether through advertising rules or restrictions on companies that profit from an insidious activity – the price that society will pay will be high and irreversible.
The issue is so serious that the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism estimates that 1.3 million people defaulted because of the games. The Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants considers that the sector’s lower revenue during a period of economic growth is due to the fact that consumers stop eating to use their resources on applications. Even beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program have used the program’s money to gamble.
There is something perverse about certain online games today, in practice, available to anyone with a cell phone. Algorithms are programmed to take money from people. Often through clearly illusionistic strategies such as offering credits and then leaving them at a loss.
Public figures sign contracts with gains correlated with the loss of customers, causing a perverse cycle. There are suspicions of currency evasion abroad via the use of orange, as we have investigated at the CPI das Bets. Even though regulation was discussed by three federal governments, until the enactment of the Betting Law in 2023, we have a case in which the regulatory effort eats dust in the face of unpredictable consequences. A report in Piauí magazine, for example, shows that the Ministry of Health was practically left aside in the discussion of how the sector should work.
To give you an idea, initially only sports betting companies were authorized to operate. Subsequently, however, the release of online games, such as the infamous Tigrinho game, transformed every Brazilian cell phone into an online roulette wheel programmed to take money from the bettor.
A simple ban will not be an effective measure. It will generate an illegal and powerful market – we know that the public authorities have not collected taxes since sports betting arrived in Brazil. Alternatives need to be implemented. We have successful experiences of mitigating the harmful consequences of certain practices without resorting to radical measures. Due to measures such as advertising restrictions, risk warnings, among others, cigarette consumption in Brazil has fallen by 35% since 2010, according to the WHO.
Tobacco advertising was routine in the media and in sporting activities and sought to convey a false image of encouraging a healthy life. Today, society understands the risks of smoking and naturally sees the restrictions and educational measures implemented.
Perhaps, in relation to betting, it will be imperative that we make a movement similar to what happened with tobacco and, later, with alcoholic beverages. Regulate advertising in the sector, especially in relation to games that are not related to sporting activities. The current situation is unsustainable. If nothing is done, the risk is immense, especially for those who have less rent and are deceived and deceived on a daily basis.
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Articles published with a byline do not reflect the newspaper’s opinion. Its publication has the purpose of stimulating debate on Brazilian and global problems and reflecting the different trends in contemporary thought.
