Brazil: IBJR Challenges IEPS and Defends Betting Regulation
🇧🇷 Brazil.– 10 November 2026 – www.zonadeazar.com — The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) has challenged the conclusions and figures used in the debate surrounding the report “The Health of Brazilians at Stake”, published by the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS). The organisation argues that banning the regulated betting market does not necessarily provide greater protection for consumers. Instead, it maintains that regulation enables effective safeguards, helps prevent gambling-related harm and generates funding for public health policies — mechanisms which, according to the IBJR, are undermined by Provisional Measure 1,394/2026.
Player health must remain at the heart of the debate
The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) has acknowledged that protecting bettors’ health and addressing gambling disorder must remain central priorities in Brazil’s public policy debate.
However, the organisation has questioned whether the second volume of the IEPS report, “A Saúde dos Brasileiros em Jogo”, provides sufficient evidence to establish that banning the regulated betting market would benefit society.
According to the IBJR, arguments supporting the elimination of the legal sector fail to adequately recognise that effective consumer protection measures depend on a formal, supervised market operating under enforceable regulatory obligations.
Player protection measures introduced through regulation
The IBJR highlighted that the regulatory framework introduced in early 2025 established safeguards that had not previously existed in Brazil’s betting market.
These included CPF identification checks — Brazil’s individual taxpayer registration system — facial recognition, a prohibition on underage betting, spending limits and a centralised self-exclusion system.
According to figures presented by the IBJR:
- 1.2 million people had used the self-exclusion mechanism by August 2026.
- More than 3 million social welfare recipients were prevented from placing bets.
- Over 66,000 illegal betting websites had been blocked.
- The number of active bettors had fallen by 7.6% even before Provisional Measure 1,394/2026 came into force.
The organisation acknowledged that these safeguards require continuous improvement but stressed that they represent tangible responsible gambling tools available within a regulated environment.
IBJR questions the interpretation of public health figures
A central element of the IBJR’s response concerns the interpretation of statistics used to assess gambling-related harm.
Regarding the reported 400% increase, the organisation explained that the figure relates to absences from work, which rose from 67 recorded cases in 2023 to 363 in 2025.
According to the IBJR, Brazil’s Ministry of Labour has itself acknowledged that insufficient evidence is available to directly attribute dismissals to gambling addiction.
The institute also questioned the figure of 12.8 million people considered at risk, noting that it was derived from interviews conducted in 2022 and 2023, before the introduction of the new regulatory framework.
The IBJR argues that the study’s own authors recognise that these findings cannot establish the current prevalence of gambling-related problems.
Regarding the estimated BRL 30.6 billion in gambling-related health costs, the organisation emphasised that this figure represents a theoretical calculation based on economic parameters taken from the United Kingdom, rather than expenditure actually incurred by Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS).
Comparing betting regulation with tobacco and alcohol policies
The IBJR also addressed the public health approach advocated by the IEPS, which proposes treating gambling through a regulatory framework comparable to those applied to tobacco and alcohol.
The organisation pointed out that both products remain legally available in Brazil, albeit subject to taxation, restrictions and specific regulatory controls.
From this perspective, the IBJR argues that recommendations concerning advertising standards, regulatory enforcement powers and the sharing of medical information depend on functioning institutional and regulatory structures.
The organisation maintains that an established legal framework is essential for implementing and enforcing such measures.
Public health funding becomes another point of contention
According to the IBJR, the regulated betting sector contributed BRL 45.8 million to public healthcare in 2025, based on figures included in its institutional statement.
The organisation further emphasised that betting operators have consistently supported increasing the proportion of industry-generated revenue allocated to healthcare.
The IBJR maintains that the current Provisional Measure removes this source of funding, leaving the costs of gambling-related treatment and efforts to combat illegal betting entirely dependent on public budgets.
Consequently, the organisation proposes making Brazil’s Unified Health System the principal beneficiary of revenue generated through regulated betting.
IBJR calls for stronger enforcement rather than prohibition
In its concluding remarks, the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming warned that prohibiting betting does not necessarily eliminate consumer demand.
Instead, it argues that removing the legal market could drive consumers towards unlicensed operators, where the safeguards required of regulated companies are absent.
Against this backdrop, the IBJR advocates robust regulatory enforcement, stronger responsible gambling measures and a greater allocation of industry-generated revenue to Brazil’s Unified Health System.
The organisation’s position adds to the wider debate surrounding the future of fixed-odds betting in Brazil, the implications of Provisional Measure 1,394/2026, and the relationship between regulation, consumer protection and public health.
Source: Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR). Institutional statement regarding the IEPS report. Editorial adaptation: Zona de Azar®.
