Chamber approves urgency for bill that establishes program against gambling addiction.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the urgency procedure for PL 4583/24, by deputy Ruy Carneiro (Pode-PB). The proposal establishes a national strategy aimed at assisting people affected by ludopathy, focusing on addiction to games and betting in the digital environment. The approval took place this Wednesday (22).

The text creates the National Program for Comprehensive Assistance to People with Gambling Disorder, ensuring comprehensive care that includes medical, psychological, psychiatric, social, and family assistance. The initiative will utilize the structures of the Unified Health System (SUS), the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS), and the Psychosocial Care Network.

Gambling addiction, or compulsive gambling, is a disorder associated with the inability to control the impulse to participate in games of chance, such as lotteries, bingo, and, more recently, fixed-odds betting, popularly known as "bets".

Losses and justification

According to the author, Congressman Ruy Carneiro, the program's objective is to allow those addicted to gambling to reduce the impacts of this practice on their lives, including harm to their physical, mental, and financial health.

“A study by the Central Bank revealed that, in August 2024 alone, five million beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program spent R$ 3 billion on bets via PIX,” says Carneiro. “In other words, for every R$ 5 paid by the government to families, R$ 1 was directed towards betting,” he compared.

He adds that, between 2018 and 2023, the number of people treated by the SUS (Brazilian public health system) for problems associated with pathological gambling rose from 108 to 1,2.

"The psychosocial support offered to addicts and their families through the SUS (Unified Health System) and SUAS (Unified Social Assistance System) guarantees humane care and comprehensive treatment, combating stigmatization and promoting social reintegration," argues Carneiro.

Protection and monitoring

The bill establishes specific guidelines for the protection of minors in relation to gambling advertising. The proposal also provides for the creation of mechanisms aimed at detecting compulsive behavior among users of gaming and betting platforms.

The initiative mandates that betting platforms provide anonymized data for epidemiological analysis. The goal is to structure public health and comprehensive care policies aimed at combating gambling addiction. The collected information will serve as a basis for formulating prevention and treatment strategies.

Program Goals

The assistance program for people with gambling disorder will have the following objectives:

⇒ Identify and treat people with gambling addiction;

⇒ To promote educational campaigns about the risks of gambling addiction;

⇒ to encourage prevention and social reintegration of addicts;

⇒ develop prevention programs focused on children and adolescents, and

To monitor and regulate gambling advertising to prevent it from attracting minors.

The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) should offer specialized mental health care for people with gambling addiction in all units of the Psychosocial Care Network.

Financing

The program will be funded by:

⇒ a percentage of taxes levied on gambling platforms;

⇒ reallocation of resources from the National Health Fund and the Unified Social Assistance System;

⇒ partnerships with private companies;

⇒ budget of the Ministries of Health and Social Development and Assistance; and

parliamentary amendments.

Expedited processing

With the approval of the urgency procedure, Bill 4583/24 waives deadlines and procedural formalities in the relevant committees. The matter can be directly scheduled for a vote in the Chamber of Deputies Plenary. Bills with urgency status proceed without first going through the House committees.

The request for urgent consideration was presented, scheduled, and approved on the same date. In total, four proposals received urgent consideration during the session.

To become law, the text needs to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. If it is not processed under an expedited procedure, the proposal would be analyzed, in a conclusive manner, by the committees on Social Security, Social Assistance, Childhood, Adolescence and Family; Health; Finance and Taxation; and Constitution and Justice and Citizenship.