Beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família social welfare programme in Brazil spent BRL3.7 billion ($685.6 million) on betting in January alone, a new study from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) has this week revealed.
The BRL3.7 billion figure represents 27% of the total amount granted to Bolsa Família recipients during the month of January.
Betting among social welfare recipients is a contentious issue in Brazil and a ban on gambling by those beneficiaries was formally announced in late September.
The TCU, a federal audit office, conducted the study to establish whether families were using the money from social welfare programmes to bet online, finding the amount spent was “very high”.
As part of the study, the TCU analysed data on financial transfers made from the government to Bolsa Família recipients. Additionally, the study also utilised data from the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.
The TCU ordered the Ministry of Social Development, Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, as well as the Central Bank, to submit an action plan to identify and reduce improper inclusions in the Bolsa Família programme within 90 days.
Additionally, the department called for bank transactions that “excessively exceed” players’ declared income amounts to be used as evidence.
An investigation into the misuse of beneficiaries’ Individual Taxpayer Registration numbers by third parties for illicit purposes, especially gambling, has been called for.
Ban on betting among social welfare beneficiaries in Brazil
The discussion over betting among social welfare beneficiaries gathered real momentum last year ahead of regulation coming in on 1 January.
In November 2024, the Supreme Federal Court upheld an emergency measure to prohibit betting via social welfare proceeds.
In late September, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets published Normative Ordinance No 2,217/2025 and Normative Instruction No 22, completely banning recipients of the Bolsa Família and Continuous Benefit Payment programmes from fixed-odds betting.
A database of social welfare beneficiaries has been established and betting operators are required to consult it when verifying player registrations and logins.
Operators must also cross-check bettors’ CPF numbers in Sigap, Brazil’s betting management system, to identify any users listed as welfare recipients.
These checks must be conducted at least every 15 days for all registered users. If a user appears in the database, operators must block their registration, close their account and refund any deposited monies.
Operators were initially given 30 days to comply with the ban, although this deadline has been extended by an additional 30 days.
Does the ban go too far?
The ban has proved hugely divisive. Lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia has suggested the prohibition constitutes a civil rights issue.
Maia, founding partner of Brazilian law firm Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados, previously told iGB: “At the end of the day it becomes a civil rights issue, because what we’re saying is, ‘Okay, if I am in a situation where I need welfare, I cannot decide where I’m going to spend my money, so I have limited freedom’.
“Either you give them stamps and say, ‘Okay, these stamps are for food and you can only use those for food’, or you’re giving them money and you’re allowing them to decide what they’re going to do with that money.”
Some have warned too that the prohibition could simply lead to banned players looking to the black market to bet.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries believes the ban goes too far, with the initial ruling only prohibiting the use of social welfare money for betting.
An ANJL-commissioned study shared with BNL Data found that 45% of social welfare beneficiaries plan to turn to the black market to continue gambling once the ban takes effect.
After the formal announcement of the ban on betting for social welfare beneficiaries, a new TCU study has demonstrated the scale of the problem.