The Senate’s Communication and Digital Law Committee (CCDD) approved last Wednesday (21) Bill No. 3,403 , which prohibits online payments for games that are considered illegal in Brazil.

The text establishes that financial institutions must adopt procedures to identify and prevent these transactions , whether by debit card, credit card, Pix or electronic transfers (TED).

The bill extends to games that are prohibited in Brazil, such as jogo do bicho, bingo and online games that may not be included in the betting regulations because they are not considered fixed-odds bets, as is the case with “jogo do tigrinho”.

The approval by the CCDD occurred after the project’s rapporteur, Senator Hamilton Mourão, issued a favorable opinion. The project will now be analyzed by the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE).

Concern about online games

Hamilton Mourão defended the approval of the project by talking about the risks of online games offered by betting sites.

“The widespread availability of these easily accessible games on the Internet has led individuals and families to increasing financial problems,” he said.

He explained that fixed-odds bets, now regulated by law , bring problems linked to gambling addiction.

“It has caused a dangerous explosion of pathological conditions associated with gambling addiction, which is the medical condition that characterizes a person’s compulsion to gamble,” he said.

The senator accepted an amendment removing an article that provides for the regulation of the matter by the National Monetary Council (CMN), which, in his view, could raise questions about the constitutionality of the project.

If the project is approved, banks and lenders that fail to block irregular payments could be fined up to one hundred times the value of the transactions .