Brazil’s National Institute of Social Security (INSS) is reportedly looking at how to ban social benefits as payments for sports betting.

In an interview with news outlet Estadão, INSS President Alessandro Stefanutto shared that his organisation – in charge of distributing welfare funds to disabled and low-income elderly people – is in the process of creating research that will show how the funds are being used amid the newly-launched regulated Bets market in Brazil. 

As further reported by SBC Noticias, INSS intends to share the findings with the Ministry of Social Security. Stefanutto will seek strategic support from the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) to flag down any potential mishandling of social funds by beneficiaries for gambling-related purposes.

“The banks that operate the advance payment already have experience in verifying the CNPJ (national identification number for legal entities) of sports betting companies. If we allow gambling, we will feed addictions,” he said.

Reason for concern 

The topic of money intended for social welfare purposes being used for gambling by the poor became a hot topic in Brazil back in September. That’s when the BCB published a report analysing the beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia – Brazil’s financial aid programme intended for people living in poverty. 

It works as a financial incentive for poor families in exchange for sending their children to school and administering all necessary vaccinations. 

In its findings, the Central Bank revealed that around three million families are direct recipients of social subsidies under the programme, with the total individual beneficiaries being around 50 million citizens. 

However, the main cause for concern was the unravelling of around BRL 3bn (€500m) of Bolsa Familia funds being spent on betting platforms – tracked through the government’s PIX payments system. 

President Lula da Silva – who founded Bolsa Familia under his first term in 2004 – has naturally taken the issue to heart, discussing it with his ministers on multiple occasions prior to the Bets launch.

One of the latest developments saw the Supreme Court of Brazil directly intervening in the weeks leading up to the market’s opening, demanding the already-finalised gambling framework be amended so that it explicitly prohibits the use of money from social funds for online gambling. 

The Senate of Brazil has additionally appointed specialised Commissions of Inquiry (CPIs) to evaluate the Bets market in its first months post-launch. 

One of the commissions, led by Senator Soraya Thronicke, will commence on 30 April with the task of presenting a detailed assessment regarding the economic risks associated with online gambling in the newly-launched market, including social welfare vulnerabilities. 

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