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On October 1, Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) published Ordinance No. 2217 in the Official Gazette that included significant amendments to its Responsible Gambling policy and Instruction No. 22. The new provisions oblige licensed betting operators to bar those receiving government social assistance, including Bolsa Família and the Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC), from registering or participating in fixed-odds betting sites.
This measure is in accordance with precautionary measures granted by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) by Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADIs) No. 7721 and 7723 and by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) in case No. TC 023.126/2024-8. With the amendment to the law, the SPA goes into action to make social protections more robust and safeguard vulnerable populations from the risks posed by problem gambling.
Certain Groups Prohibited from Gambling
The new rule amends SPA/MF Ordinance No. 1.231, Article 8, adding explicit provisions whereby operators shall deny service to:
- Those diagnosed as having ludopathy by a qualified mental health expert.
- Those excluded by some administrative or judicial decisions.
- Beneficiaries of Bolsa Família (Law No. 14.601/2023) and the BPC (Law No. 8.742/1993).
This expansion of excluded categories is evidence of the government’s commitment to maintaining gambling services as a lawful entertainment and never as a source of economic risk to financially vulnerable citizens.
Mandatory Operator Procedures
Instruction No. 22 also lists the operational demands for betting operators to carry out to fulfill the new regulation. They involve regular checks on the Sistema de Gestão de Apostas (Sigap), the casino management system in central operation, to check user information against government benefit databases.
The checks will be required at three main points:
- At account opening – If a prospective user is highlighted as “Impedido – Programa Social,” the registration must be denied.
- At the first log-in of each day, if the system classifies a user as a social benefit recipient, the operator is to shut down the account within three days.
- Every 15 days – A comprehensive list of all users enrolled must be taken to determine adherence, capturing any who may have recently joined the social benefit programs.
The checks are made by utilizing the taxpayer identification number (CPF) of the person. The system shows one of two statuses: “Impedido – Programa Social” or “Não Impedido.”
Account Closure and Refund Process
If a player is marked, the operator must notify them within 24 hours, indicating the reason for closure and allowing withdrawal within two days. If nothing is done by the player, the operator must refund money directly into the previously registered bank account of the bettor.
All user interactions should be logged and stored safely for five years, in accordance with complete transparency and regulatory scrutiny.
Balancing Growth and Social Responsibility
Brazil’s regulated gambling market is expanding rapidly, with new operators entering under the new regime. However, the government has announced that expansion must be accompanied by robust consumer protection. Ignoring Bolsa Família and BPC recipients, the SPA targets social allowance funds from being used for gambling, a move generally perceived as being a safeguard for vulnerable sectors.
In addition, the requirement for ongoing and daily system monitoring reflects a shift towards more rigorous responsibility and data-based monitoring of operators. Such measures pass beyond the blocking of risk groups from betting and aim to raise Brazil’s licensed betting business at home and abroad.
The publication of Ordinance No. 2217 and Instruction No. 22 is evidence of the trend toward more responsible gambling regulation in Brazil. By linking betting control to social welfare indicators, the country is applying one of the strictest systems in Latin America.
As operators face additional compliance demands, policy adjustments favor Brazil’s aim to make sure that legal gambling remains a regulated, secure, and socially responsible activity. Over the next few months, operators’ ability to adapt well to these additional burdens, as well as the impact of enforcement of the same on the overall betting industry in Brazil, will be majorly measured.
Source: GMB
