Brazil’s gambling addiction

The figures are startling - 2.1 million Brazilians have a clinical addiction to betting and 7.5 million are problem gamblers. Women now comprise 40% of all gamblers, having been 25% just a decade ago. Online sports and casino betting have exploded in Brazil to make it one of the largest gambling markets in the world. The self-help group Gamblers Anonymous says it's receiving thousands of calls each month and millions of Brazilians are estimated be suffering financial, emotional or relationship problems as a result of betting.

Camilla Mota talks to football fans in Sao Paulo on why they are gambling on their team’s result. She speaks to a man who gambled away $75, 000 on a corporate credit card over just one weekend and a businesswoman who locked herself in the toilet of her family home in order to bet in secret. Camilla also meets two psychiatrists offering treatment to addicts at a special clinic. What can be done to protect problem gamblers while at the same time avoid driving legal gambling underground?

(Photo: A hand holding a mobile phone with a roulette on the screen, while an index finger selects numbers. In the background is a green gaming table with plastic chips on various bets. Casino. Credit: John Lamb/Getty Images)

Produced by Bob Howard
Studio engineer: Neva Missirian
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy