SPA leader confirms incoming ban on betting with social welfare in Brazil

In an interview with Estadão, Dudena confirmed the SPA will ban those receiving social welfare from programmes such as Bolsa Família and the Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC) from betting in Brazil.

Dudena’s confirmation follows a November ruling from the Supreme Federal Court which upheld minister Luis Fux’s emergency measure to ban gambling with social welfare.

It is expected the measure will undergo legal assessment before the SPA publishes an ordinance formally introducing the ban.

“We are preparing a measure to comply with the decision in the way we think is possible, which is to prohibit beneficiaries, specifically of Bolsa Família and BPC,” Dudena told Estadão. “But this is still in the final stages of alignment, especially legal, to see if it complies with the Supreme Court’s decision.”

How will the ban on betting with social welfare be implemented?

However, Dudena also warned the ban, which would affect around 20 million people in Brazil, may be difficult to implement.

Last September, the Central Bank of Brazil revealed a fifth of the funds it submitted through the Bolsa Família programme in August had been spent on online gambling.

The National Secretariat of Citizen Income (Senarc) has previously noted only 1% of families receiving Bolsa Família using the given card. The remaining 99% use the online bank account in which the welfare is paid into, which can also receive other payments such as wages.

“The Supreme Court is ordering us to impose this restriction and we will seek the best way to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision,” Dudena added.

“Blocking the card would not be effective. It is very rare for a beneficiary to receive money exclusively on a Bolsa Família card. The rule is that they receive money in an account and that account has a card linked to it. The stand-alone Bolsa Família card, which is not linked to a payment account or deposit account, is already prohibited by our regulations.”

The SPA is instead planning to block all beneficiaries from Bolsa Família and the BPC from betting using their Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF) number.

SPA to publish quarterly reports on betting in Brazil

A key point of discussion over the first three months of the regulated market in Brazil has centred on if, when and how often the regulator will release numbers on the sector’s performance.

Dudena revealed to Estadao the SPA will publish quarterly results, using insights from operators and the Betting Management System (Sigap).

“We are producing this data,” Dudena explained. “We expect our system, Sigap, to receive daily reports from all companies. The betting agent’s own system will communicate with Sigap daily and report how many bettors have registered, how much was bet, how much was won, how much was lost.

“The idea is to publish a report that addresses these numbers to present the first results to society.”

The SPA is expected to publish its full agenda for its 2025-26 biennium tomorrow (4 April), coming just days after the CEO of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) Andre Gelfi claimed the illegal market still accounts for 60% of monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR).

Dudena believes the SPA’s work is a cycle with a need for constant assessment and improvement, though he maintains the regulation is proving effective in restricting underage betting.

“Within the regulated market, our degree of accuracy in prohibiting children and adolescents from the betting environment is close to 100%,” Dudena said.