Brazil President Lula calls for speed up regulation on the country's gambling industry at Future Summit in NY

During the Future Summit in New York, at the event "In defense of democracy, fighting extremism" held in the UN headquarters, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented on the gambling situation in the country and said it was necessary to speed up regulation of the issue. The meeting was organized by Lula and the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez (PSOE, center-left).

The President believes the measure will help curb the debt of the country's poorest families. 

The release of fixed-odds betting occurred in 2018, at the end of Michel Temer's government. In recent months, however, the issue has gained prominence due to the increase in bets made by Brazilians.

According to a Central Bank (BC) survey, in August alone, Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent R$3 billion ($ 545 million) on ‘Bets’ – as operators are called in Brazil - via Pix. The study was conducted at the request of Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM).

When commenting on the situation, Lula recalled that Brazil has always had laws against casinos and betting houses. "Brazil has always been against casinos, any type of gambling. Today, through a cell phone, gambling is inside the family home, in the living room," Lula said. "We are noticing in Brazil that the poorest people are getting into debt trying to make money, marking bets. It is a problem that we are going to have to regulate," he added.

For the Brazilian president, the growing problem in gambling is monetization based on “lies.” “We are seeing madness. The monetization of lies through the digital network. With people becoming billionaires, millionaires. What we are seeing in a country like Brazil is gambling,” he declared.

He also said that the dissemination of this type of bet is based on lies: "We are seeing madness. The monetization of lies through the digital network. With people becoming billionaires, millionaires. What we are seeing in a country like Brazil are gambling games."

The data shows that the average spending by Bolsa Família beneficiaries was R$1.31 billion $ 238 million) per month or R$147 ($ 27) per person. Of these people who gamble, 5.4 million (60.5%) are heads of households – who, receive the benefit – and sent R$6.23 billion ($ 1.13 billion) - 59.3% - via Pix to ‘Bets’.