The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Wellington César Lima, stated this Friday (19) that 25.2 million Brazilians bet in illegal bookmakers. According to government calculations, economic losses from betting amount to R$38.8 billion per year, 80% of which are due to health damage.
The statement was made amid the government’s announcement of the transfer of resources from these betting houses for public security actions.
“We have numbers that illustrate this dimension. We are talking about illegal bets on somewhere between 41% and 50% of platforms”, highlighted Wellington Lima.
The minister also stated that the SPA (Secretary of Betting Awards) has already blocked more than 40 thousand domains that do not operate under Brazilian law.
Bet consumption
According to federal government estimates, one in four Brazilians bets daily, and half of the population bets at least once a week.
The data shows that bettors are . According to the ministry’s survey, 69% of those who bet on bets are between 19 and 29 years old, and 63% of the public on these sites has a family income of up to two minimum wages.
Blocking illegal bets
The federal government announced this Friday (19) that it will block resources and transfer them to public security actions.
In a post on social media, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) informed that the funds will be allocated to the National Public Security Fund and will reinforce the fight against the financial structures of organized crime in the country.
As part of the initiative, the SPA (Prizes and Betting Secretariat) will notify financial and payment institutions to block, within 24 hours, existing amounts and interrupt new transactions related to irregular betting.
After notification, institutions must report compliance with the measure within 48 hours.
The Central Bank will also be communicated simultaneously to supervise execution. The operational procedures of and values will be regulated later through a resolution by the CMN (National Monetary Council).
