Brazil Health Ministry Rolls Out National Awareness Drive on Online Betting Harms
2026-07-27
Source: Global Gaming Insider
Brazil's Health Ministry launched a nationwide campaign on online betting risks, coinciding with the Brasileirão's return. Users are directed to mental health support via the SUS app, while the initiative follows rising political scrutiny and a 137% increase in treatment demand over five years.
Brazil's Ministry of Health has initiated a national awareness campaign concerning the dangers of online betting, timed with the revival of the Brasileirão, the country's premier football league. The initiative spans television, radio, and social media platforms.
The campaign channels the public toward mental health services available via the Unified Health System (SUS). Users can access the Meu SUS Digital app, where a risk-assessment questionnaire under the "Problems with gambling?” section identifies those at moderate or high risk and subsequently refers them to teleconsultations with mental health professionals. Individuals requiring face-to-face care are directed to the Rede de Atenção Psicossocial (RAPS), beginning at a local health unit and, if needed, escalating to a specialized Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS).
The Ministry highlighted that betting platforms operate continuously and deploy features such as push notifications, bonuses, live betting, and variable rewards, which may foster repetitive usage. This campaign emerges amid intensifying political examination of Brazil's betting landscape. In July, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad advocated regulating betting similarly to tobacco and alcohol, with his ministry and the Health Ministry jointly developing a broader regulatory framework.
A legislative hearing in May revealed that demand for gambling-related treatment had surged 137% over five years. Meanwhile, a self-exclusion system run with the Finance Ministry had reached only a small portion of individuals estimated to have a gambling disorder.