Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) has appealed the latest decision by Justice Luiz Fux, arguing that it is technically impossible to comply with. The impasse revolves around the attempt to prevent funds from social programs, such as Bolsa Família and the Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC), from being used for online gambling, also known as bets.
In December, Fux ruled that the freeze should not be total, based on the beneficiary’s CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID), but rather restricted only to amounts originating from state aid.
In other words, if the person had another source of income, they could gamble.
The change to the agenda of the initial project, from 2024, occurred after companies in the sector filed an appeal.
What is the main obstacle to complying with the decision?
The problem, according to the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, is that the system is unable to make this distinction.
In a statement, the Attorney General’s Office explains:
“It is important to report that the Prizes and Betting Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance emphasized the technical impossibility of complying with the recent decisions issued, given the lack of a technical mechanism or technological solution to distinguish whether the funds used by the bettor originate from social benefits or not.”
Therefore, the government argues that there is currently no technology capable of “stamping” the money in the user’s account to differentiate whether the wagered amount came from social benefits or another source of income.
Assembly resolution
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux canceled a conciliation hearing between the federal government and representatives of betting companies to discuss the blocking of bets for beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program.
The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, the 10th. Luiz Fux canceled the meeting due to a scheduling conflict with a session of the Supreme Court’s Second Chamber, a decision signed on Monday, the 2nd.
