The Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, announced an important measure: the Bolsa Família card cannot be used to pay for online bets.
This decision aims to ensure that the program’s resources are used exclusively to meet the basic needs of beneficiary families, such as food, health and education.
According to the minister, although the Bolsa Família card allows certain freedom of use so that families can manage their expenses according to their needs, online betting is not a priority.
The minister declared: “The Bolsa Família card is free to use to access family needs, food and others. Certainly, games are not a necessity. In order not to even create prejudice against the Bolsa Família card, the general measure that applies to All cards are also valid for the Bolsa Família card.”
Betting regulation
The regulation of online betting, approved by the National Congress in December 2023, raised debates about the possibility of using the benefit for this purpose.
While some maintain that beneficiaries should have complete autonomy over how to spend the money. Others argue that the government must ensure the focus remains on food security and household well-being. Therefore, the lockdown decision comes as a response to these concerns.
After a meeting with the Minister of Treasury, Fernando Haddad, Wellington Dias explained that the implementation of the measure is already underway, although he did not specify an exact date for its effectiveness.
“The card has no payment limit, that is, zero [limit] for paying bets. You actually have a block integrated with the companies’ own system and of course here with the National Gaming Secretariat with this network of supervision. The Central Bank comes in, all the controllers come in”, he declared.
Furthermore, the minister stated that there will be no limit or margin for bets to be made with the card. “We will adopt the measure within the general measure for the use of all cards”, reaffirmed Dias.
According to the minister, this action aims not only to protect families’ resources, but also to prevent Bolsa Família from being associated with gambling practices. In other words, something that is not part of your main mission.
Among the measures would be a tool to change ownership if he starts gambling and stops guaranteeing the food security of his family.
