Brazilian Health Ministry Launches Active Outreach to Support Gamblers Following Online Betting Ban
Brazil’s Health Ministry is proactively reaching out to gamblers affected by the online betting ban, offering mental health support and leveraging protected data.
- • Health Ministry to actively contact habitual gamblers for treatment following online betting ban.
- • Data shared by Finance and Security Ministries used under LGPD protections for outreach programs.
- • Mental health services to be offered via Meu SUS Digital and telehealth platforms.
- • Social cost of gambling estimated at R$ 38.8 billion annually, including R$ 17 billion from suicides.
Key details
Following the recent ban on online fixed-odds betting announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's Ministry of Health is intensifying efforts to locate and support habitual gamblers impacted by the prohibition. Health Minister Alexandre Padilha revealed that since December 2025, policies for active outreach to individuals exhibiting problematic gambling behavior have been underway, leveraging data shared by the Ministries of Finance, Security, and the Federal Revenue Service. This data, managed under the protected environment of Nuvem Brasil and compliant with Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD), ensures privacy and ethical standards.
To offer mental health support, the Ministry is utilizing the Meu SUS Digital platform and telehealth services, aiming both at affected gamblers and their families. The initiative is part of a broader governmental response that includes banning online betting, instituting a refund process for existing balances, and criminalizing illegal gambling operations and related data misuse with penalties up to six years in prison.
Padilha highlighted the severe public health and economic consequences linked to gambling, citing a study from the Institute for Health Policy Studies estimating the social cost at R$ 38.8 billion annually, including R$ 17 billion linked to excess suicides. Moreover, health service usage related to pathological gambling increased by 140% between 2018 and 2025, prompting these urgent interventions.
The government is also addressing associated family indebtedness, which totals about R$ 300 billion, through a parallel provisional measure aiming to reduce this burden by 50%. The comprehensive approach reflects the administration's commitment to mitigating the far-reaching harms of online gambling beyond just regulatory prohibition.
This article was translated and synthesized from Brazilian sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
