Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) presents this Monday (16), at the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), a request to suspend betting sites and applications until the implementation of the regulatory body’s competence in the country, which is scheduled to take place in January 2025.
For the suspension, the parliamentarian requests that the PGR recommend an Action for Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPF), and a request for urgent application, to the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
Proposal to suspend betting sites in Brazil until regulations come into force
According to the senator, the objective is to take all betting sites offline. “Like they did on Twitter. It’s simple,” said Aziz in a video released on social media last Sunday (15).
The project, which regulates sports betting, online casinos and creates laws for the operation of these companies in Brazil, was approved by Congress in December 2023. In the Senate, the proposal received the vote of Aziz, who said “he supports cooperation, but in principle”.
In the video, the parliamentarian criticized the ease with which young people can bet in casinos. “Who is spreading this? Pseudo-leaders, pseudo-idols, who instead of teaching good things to young people, children and teenagers, make these people play games”, he pondered.
Furthermore, Aziz highlighted negative financial consequences, especially for the vulnerable. “We are not a republic, here we have to have control and regulation”, he highlighted.
In the second half of 2023, the Ministry of Treasury proposed the creation of a task force to work on the prevention and treatment of gaming addiction. Therefore, the task force should focus on gambling addiction, known as ludopathy.
National Congress debates restriction of online betting and gaming
In this space of comprehensive and immediate sectoral policies, proposals to restrict advertising related to the sector began to appear in Congress.
Among them is:
- Amendment of the law (PEC – Constitutional Amendment Proposal) that establishes that betting equals alcohol and tobacco, imposes legal restrictions on advertising in the sector
- Bill to limit the value of bets by CPF
Representative Luiz Gastão (PSD-CE), author of the PEC, is collecting signatures in the Chamber to be able to file the proposal. To the Estadão newspaper, he said that Congress should pay more attention to the debate on the negative aspects of betting.
“I think there was a lack of greater criteria in relation to access, which was easy,” the deputy told the reporter. Criticism, however, extended to the government: “There is a slowness in taking a position.”
