BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Ministry of Social Development said on Friday that a working group will propose measures next week to prevent people from using their social benefits for online gambling.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Bolsa Familia, a more than two-decade-old program, provides direct cash transfers to the poorest households at an annual cost of 168.6 billion reais ($31.04 billion), or 1.5% of Brazil’s GDP.
A recent report from the central bank showed that 5 million people from beneficiary households sent 3 billion reais to online gambling companies in August using the Pix payment platform, with an average spend of 100 reais per person.
This means that approximately 20% of the Workers’ Party program’s monthly budget was spent on online betting. Bolsa Familia supports 21 million families, with an average benefit of 685 reais per month, official data shows.
“We are working on alternatives. One of them is a zero limit on the use of social benefits, such as Bolsa Familia, for gambling or betting,” Brazilian Social Development Minister Wellington Dias said in a video distributed to journalists.
“And we are considering a control mechanism based on tax numbers to implement the necessary measures,” he said, adding that a proposal to change the rules will be submitted to Lula.
Dias said the average amount spent is significant and contrasts with Bolsa Familia’s goal of ensuring funds for food and basic family needs.
Earlier on Friday, central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said at an event that the bank’s report was not intended to “demonize” Bolsa Familia but serve as a warning, showing that lower-income groups are spending a lot of money on betting.
“This is happening, and it’s happening at a rapid pace, which at some point could threaten the incomes of these lower-income households,” he added.
($1 = 5.4316 reais)
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Alexander Smith)