Brazil’s gambling-related work absences hit record levels after online betting expansion

A g1 review, confirmed by Brazil’s Social Security system, shows that work absences tied to gambling disorder have risen alongside the arrival of online betting sites, which were legalized in the country in 2018. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the useful part is not the headline number itself but the combination of regulatory looseness, mobile access, and a fast-growing medical and employment burden.

1. The g1 survey found that gambling-disorder-related leave cost at least R$ 4.8 million to Social Security from June 2023 through August of this year. The Ministry of Social Security says the issue is underreported, so the figure captures only part of the picture.
2. The count includes only workers who contribute to INSS and were off work for more than 15 days. It also only covers cases coded as CID F63.0, which refers specifically to pathological gambling. Doctors say many patients also develop severe anxiety and depression, which end up under other ICD codes instead.
3. Brazil’s psychiatric community has recognized gambling disorder as a disease since 1980, during the bingo-and-casino era. The difference now, specialists say, is the smartphone: the game is available all the time, which makes the addiction harder to interrupt than in the old land-based setup.
4. One example in the report is Vitória Macedo, a 29-year-old telemarketing worker, who lost more than R$ 30,000 on online bets, including FGTS withdrawals, and needed time off work for treatment. Her case appears in the same data set used by g1.
5. The latest recent data cited in the report comes from a 2023 study by Universidade Federal de São Paulo, which found that 1.4 million people in Brazil had an unhealthy relationship with betting. The broader market picture is also politically unsettled: online bets are currently banned in Brazil under a federal provisional measure, which lasts up to 120 days and must be approved by Congress to become law.

There is also a compliance angle that payment companies will recognize immediately. The report says consumer groups want betting operators to be forced to warn users about the risk of losses, while one formerly legal operator is now under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly offering personalized WhatsApp support and alcohol to a bettor with gambling disorder. On paper, rules can exist; in practice, the enforcement gap is where the problems show up.