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According to a new Datafolha survey, 78% of Brazilians favor the ban on online casinos and online betting, 18% are against the ban, and 4% did not express an opinion. The survey was carried out shortly after the government declared the fixed-odds betting prohibition.
Meanwhile, 81% reported that they and/or household members had not been gambling prior to the prohibition. Another household member bet: 9% (3% both they and another household member). This equates to 18% saying they were directly or indirectly involved in their home with online betting.
Opposition Exceeds the Share of Bettors
The 18% supporting the ban is double the 9% who indicated they personally bet, but the survey did not report on cross-tabulations of opinions on the prohibition with personal betting habits. Therefore, it is difficult to determine exactly how many non-bettors are against the measure from the available data.
The survey also found that 27% of those between the ages of 16 and 24, as well as 25 and 34, gambled or resided in a household where someone gambled. The figure was higher among those who benefited from Bolsa Família, reaching 31%, compared to 14% among those who didn’t benefit from Bolsa Família.
Comparing Current and Previous Betting Data
The 18% number from Datafolha is not just bettors, but those who bet or lived with someone who bet. The institute had previously said that 7% of them personally wagered online in July. The new survey results showed that 6% were the only bettor in their household while 3% were both bettors and lived with another bettor.
The two figures are not necessarily a direct reflection of the growth in the number of bettors, as the questions and groups measured vary. The current survey alternatively gathers a wider reflection of the betting exposure of households.
Bolsa Família Figure Raises Questions About Illegal Betting
This 31% is significant among beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família, as the authorized betting operators were required to keep the beneficiaries from registering and betting on the regulated platforms. The Datafolha survey, however, did not inquire of respondents where they went to gamble and whether the gambler in the household was the program beneficiary.
Thus, this survey does not provide any information on the extent to which this activity took place by legal or illegal platforms. The figure does give information on the prevalence of betting or household exposure to betting amongst beneficiaries at the time of the survey, however.
Timing of the Survey Is Relevant
The data were collected by Datafolha among 2,506 individuals in 152 municipalities in Brazil from 28th to 1st of September, considering a margin of error of 2 percentage points and a 95% confidence level. The survey took place just a few days after the announcement of the provisional measure on September 25.
The timing is important when analysing the results on betting behaviour as the ban had already been enacted during the survey period. The survey therefore reflects attitudes immediately after the policy change, which is the public opinion and reported betting exposure to households, rather than public opinion before the policy change.
Source: BNL Data
