The number of Brazilian workers on medical leave because of gambling addiction grew 441% in two years. In 2023, 67 people received temporary disability benefits from the INSS, Brazil's national social security institute, due to gambling disorder, the clinical name for compulsive gambling. In 2025, that figure reached 363. The numbers come from a study by the Labor Ministry's statistics and labor studies department, obtained in advance by Folha de S.Paulo, and cover the period from the regulation of online betting companies, known in Brazil as bets, in December 2023 through last year.
The analysis, based on records from the Social Security Ministry and the Labor Ministry itself, also shows a rise in job terminations among benefit recipients. The share of formal contracts ended in this group went from 35% in 2023 to 42.5% in 2025: by the end of last year, 4 in every 10 workers receiving the benefit had left their formal jobs. Almost 70% of the terminations were resignations or dismissals without cause, a ratio in line with the broader labor market.
What the data confirms, and what remains a hypothesis
The study's author, undersecretary Paula Montagner, is explicit about the limits of the figures. According to her, there is not enough data to confirm that the increase in dismissals was caused by gambling addiction. The absolute numbers are also small, and they only capture formal workers whose disability was officially recognized by the INSS, which makes underreporting likely among informal workers or those who never apply for the benefit.
Montagner says, however, that the available data is clear about the addictive potential of electronic games:
"Restricting gambling is a measure aimed at recovering the mental health of Brazilians, especially workers who, while looking for some financial relief, end up in desperate levels of debt," she said.
The study surfaces amid a sharp policy reversal by the federal government. The regulation of fixed-odds betting, set by Law 14.790 in December 2023, was overturned by Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, published on September 25, which bans the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of bets across the country. According to Agência Senado, the Senate's news service, betting platforms had to go offline starting October 6, and company authorizations will be extinguished on October 25. A provisional measure in Brazil takes effect immediately but must be approved by Congress within 120 days to become permanent law.
How to seek help
Gambling disorder is a condition recognized by the international classification of diseases (ICD-10, code F63.0), and the INSS benefit is granted when an insured worker is temporarily unable to work because of the addiction. The most common warning signs are betting ever larger amounts, hiding the habit from family and taking on debt to keep gambling. Treatment is available free of charge through the SUS, Brazil's public health system, usually at psychosocial care centers known as Caps, and support groups such as Gamblers Anonymous (Jogadores Anônimos) hold in-person and online meetings in many cities. Formally employed workers who recognize themselves in this picture can seek medical care: a formal diagnosis is the first step both for treatment and for access to the benefit.