Brazil: Government tells STF it cannot track Bolsa Familia funds in online betting

Brazil.– February 11, 2026 – www.zonadeazar.com Brazil’s Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU) has filed an appeal with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), arguing there is no technical capability to distinguish whether funds used for online betting originate from social welfare programmes such as Bolsa Familia or the Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC).

Overview

In its submission to the STF, the AGU stated that current systems lack the technological means to identify the specific origin of money used in online bets, particularly whether it was sourced from social welfare benefits or from other personal funds held in the same bank account. This limitation, the government argues, makes it unfeasible to comply with a judicial order aimed at preventing beneficiaries of these programmes from using their benefits to participate in online gambling.

The appeal follows earlier court directives that sought to prevent social welfare recipients from placing online bets with funds received through Bolsa Familia or BPC, a move that has encountered technical and legal challenges.

Technical challenges

The government’s argument centers on the absence of technology capable of “tagging” or tracing the source of individual funds in a bank account, which is often used for multiple income streams such as salaries, transfers, and other transactions, making it impossible to differentiate benefit-derived money from other deposits.

Furthermore, the AGU contends that requiring betting operators to identify or block transactions tied to welfare benefits could breach Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) by necessitating the sharing of sensitive beneficiary data.

Legal and regulatory debate

This government appeal comes amid broader efforts by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance and the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting to control the participation of welfare programme recipients in online gambling, aligning with prior STF orders and recommendations from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).

Yet the lack of a clear technological solution has sparked friction between the executive and judicial branches, raising wider questions about the technical and legal limits of financial controls tied to social programmes and the online betting market.

🔗 Edited by: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com