After the completion of a study Two-day hearing at STF Supreme Court Minister this week aims to investigate the effects of betting in Brazil Fux called on Wednesday, November 13: Gambling using Bolsa Familia benefit vouchers will be banned, as will betting ads targeting children.

Fux’s request for STF president Luis Roberto Barroso to call the plenary session of the parliament of deputies to an extraordinary virtual session was accepted, but the hearing was postponed following the explosion on November 13, in which one person outside the STF died. The general assembly is the highest deliberative body of the parliament of deputies.

The court yesterday (November 14) voted to adopt Fux’s measures immediately, bringing them forward from the previously expected implementation date of January 1, 2025. This is also the expected launch date for legal betting in Brazil.

Measures aim to ease fears about betting in Brazil

All 11 ministers who make up the plenary voted to support Fux’s actions amid a backlash against the gambling industry over fears of its impact on the financial and social health of Brazilians.

In September, the Central Bank of Brazil announced that 20% of funds from the Bolsa Familia program were spent on online gambling in August.

The ban on benefiting from betting benefits has received support from much of the industry, including the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL).

While ANJL described the measures as “positive and necessary”, it said they were “consistent with responsible gaming advocated by the (legal) online betting and gaming market”.

STF hearing

The hearing at the STF was called after the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), Brazil’s third largest union, filed an ADI (Ação Direta de Inconstituucionalidade) seeking to overturn betting laws in the country.

CNC claims that Laws 14.790/2023 and 13.756/2018 are unconstitutional and Fux states that they will be evaluated In the first half of 2025.

A number of high-profile members of the Brazilian betting industry spoke at the hearing, with the industry sharing their views that declaring betting laws unconstitutional would only serve to strengthen the black market in the country.