The Ministry of Social Security may ban the use of retirement funds and pensions on sports betting sites. According to the head of the department, Carlos Lupi, a legal alternative is still being studied and he hopes to implement it 'as soon as possible'. For him, the benefit is for subsistence and the measure should be similar to the prohibition of using the Bolsa Família.
"The Social Security benefit is for the subsistence of the person. The challenge is that we cannot intervene in private money. But as the payments are subsidized by the government, our legal team is studying the prohibition based on this, that there is money from the Treasury and public money was not made to go into gambling".
Lupi gave a lecture at the Brazilian Institute of Lawyers and in an interview at the end of the event, he was emphatic:
“I do not want to be arbitrary or authoritarian. I understand that it is the citizen's money, but I also understand that this is not what retirement and pension are for. It is to ensure the survival system of the person. And gambling, nowhere in the world, is a survival system”.
The minister argued that the measure would be similar to the prohibition of using welfare benefits, such as Bolsa Família and the Continuous Cash Benefit - BPC.
Lupi added that banks have mechanisms to prevent customers from making transfers to betting sites: "The bank separates all payments. If you take your statement, it's there: market, shopping, electricity. If it's banned, the system itself can prevent this".
According to Lupi, the legal team of the Ministry is evaluating whether the prohibition can be made directly by the National Institute of Social Security, through an ordinance, or if it needs to be assessed by the National Social Security Council.
Source: Agência Brasil
