According to Brazil’s Central Bank, in a single month (January 2025), approximately R$ 3.7 billion (US$690m) were transferred from the accounts of people receiving the benefit to betting operators. The rapporteur of the case, Minister Jhonatan de Jesus, cautioned, however, that it is impossible to state with full certainty that the funds used for betting come exclusively from Bolsa Família.
This is because the money received by beneficiaries is mixed with other funds in their accounts, and 83.93% of account holders report having additional sources of income (such as paid work, for example). The sum of these declared incomes (R$ 13.73 billion / US$2.55bn) nearly matched the amount transferred by the program (R$ 13.70 billion / US$2.54bn) in January 2025.
On the other hand, it is accurate to say that there are strong indications of the irregular use of CPFs belonging to Bolsa Família beneficiaries in schemes involving fraud, money laundering, or concealment of illicit activities.
One such indication is the concentration of transfers: roughly 4.4% of all betting households accounted for 80% of the total amount transferred. In addition, in the month analyzed, 21.9% of the families engaged with betting activities.
For the case's rapporteur, Minister Jhonatan de Jesus, these figures “reinforce the strong suspicion of irregular CPF use” (third parties using beneficiaries’ identities) and “may indicate money laundering, concealment of illicit gains, or other forms of fraud, going beyond the issue of Responsible Gambling and entering the realm of illegality.”
TCU directives
The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) ordered the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Fight Against Hunger, along with the Central Bank, to prepare and submit, within 90 days, an action plan to identify and reduce the causes of improper enrollments in Bolsa Família, using excessive banking activity as an indicator. The agencies must also investigate and address cases of illicit use of beneficiaries’ CPFs by third parties for betting purposes.
Furthermore, the Court will forward data on atypical and high-value transactions (suspected fraud and money laundering) to the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), the Federal Revenue Service, and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for investigative measures.
Source: GMB
