Brazil prosecutor urges overhaul of online betting law amid worker debt and mental‑health crisis

At the 2nd National Conascon meeting in Salvador, Brazil's Ministry of Labor prosecutor Marcos Cutrim called for an urgent revision of the country's online betting regulation, known as the "Lei das Bets" (Law 14.2023). He warned that intensive use of betting apps on smartphones is harming workers' mental health, productivity and finances, noting that roughly R$30 billion per month flows from families to betting platforms, often hidden from credit records. Cutrim highlighted a rise in gambling addiction, with about 574 000 Brazilians having self‑excluded from platforms, and stressed the broader socioeconomic damage.

Cutrim proposed several safeguards: stricter limits on advertising, a ban on influencer promotion, mandatory caps on losses and deposits, stronger sector oversight, and directing a portion of betting revenues to treatment for gambling disorder in the public health system. He also raised the prospect of collective moral damages against the industry, urging lawmakers to protect workers, companies, the economy and public health by redrafting the law.