In 2023, the Brazilian government legalized online sports betting. In 2024, gambling became ubiquitous throughout the country.
In the past year, fans have found themselves inundated with gaming advertisements in the Instagram stories of major influencers, on the jerseys of sports teams, and on billboards in big cities. Brazilians spent around R$20 billion per month (around $3.2 billion USD) on online betting in the first eight months of 2024, according to the Banco Central.
Recently, a report in Folha de S. Paulo showed that many pastors are concerned about sports betting and a good number of evangelical federal deputies (the “evangelical bench”) have been working to block the release of games of chance in Brazil. A majority (61 percent) of evangelicals still oppose gambling, compared to 53 percent of Catholics and 55 percent of Brazilians in general. However, according to another report, about one-third (29%) of evangelicals admit that they have gambled on betting websites, compared to 22 percent of Catholics. One in five (21%) of evangelicals say they have gambling debt, nearly double that of Catholics.
A majority of evangelicals, approximately 63 percent, are also considered poor, and their salaries are equivalent to $256.70 USD a month, a demographic that has been especially susceptible to gambling. Retail-market analysts have blamed gambling for a drop in sales of rice and beans among the poorest citizens. In August, a quarter of the 20 million beneficiaries of Brazil’s main social-benefits program reported gambling.
In light of gambling’s explosive impact on Brazilian life, CT asked six pastors, experts, and theologians about how they are advising fellow Christians to navigate this addictive activity.
Responses have been edited for clarity.
Lucas Carvalho
Pastor and church planter, Igreja Presbiteriana Videira in Brasília
Recently, I heard a member of a church I pastor say that he worked in the financial market, but when I questioned a bit more about his occupation, he admitted that he “worked” by betting. Even though 50 percent of the family’s monthly income is already fully committed to paying off gambling debts, they categorically affirmed that it was a legitimate job that provided financial returns and did not think that betting was a problem. I tried to explain that bets are not investments and that if something was driving him into debt, it was sinful, because believers should have an upright financial life.
But changing our financial behavior without changing what we think is valuable in life is merely cosmetic. That’s why it’s important to ground families in the gospel of Christ, who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake (2 Cor. 8:9). We must remember that everything we lack is found in Christ. Only he can satisfy us. No amount of money can give us what Christ does.
Pedro Pamplona
Pastor of the Igreja Batista Filadélfia in Fortaleza, Ceará
I’m not naive enough to think no church members are betting, but I believe it’s a minority. I’ve had to counsel a young father in our church who was losing a significant part of his family’s income on sports betting. I was careful and loving, but also firm. This is an unacceptable situation, and the church must address cases like this with both love and firmness.
Pastors and leaders must teach not only about the dangers of gambling, but primarily about greed and the love of money. It’s this idolatrous desire for wealth that makes us easy prey and ideal customers for betting companies. We need to talk about financial education, provide a solid Christian worldview of work, and confront those who are being dominated by addiction and sinning through the misuse of their resources. Furthermore, it’s essential to create a safe environment for confessing this sin and seeking pastoral help.
It’s also essential to remind the members of our congregations that “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Tim. 6:9–10)
Fabiano Bohi Goulart
Pastor of A Família de Deus Church in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul
In our community [a Pentecostal middle-class church], though we haven’t yet faced the issue directly, we are already openly addressing it from the pulpit.
Christian churches have historically been at the center of organized resistance against addiction. I became a Christian at 14 years old and have visited many denominations, and preaching and concern about addiction are a constant presence in Brazilian church pulpits. Recovery centers spread across Brazil almost always have a confessional line. Partnerships with missionary agencies with specialized training to help addicts are always important. It would also help greatly if we included financial-education courses in our Bible school curricula, teaching people how Christ’s lordship brings healing to our economic relationships.
Ana Carolina Caires Lopes
Member of the First Biblical Baptist Church of Cidade Ademar (São Paulo), writer for Graça em Flor Ministry, and teacher for the Frutíferas platform
In a society constantly facing financial difficulties due to a failing and corrupt economy, our leaders need to open their eyes to the new strategies that are luring Christians and making them believe there are easier shortcuts to success or to solving their debts. The new betting market will continue to expand as long as it is not seen for what it really is: a means of spreading greed and the love of money, “which is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10).
We need to hear more from our pulpits that we serve the owner of all gold and silver, that our kingdom is not of this world, that our eyes must be set on things above, and that no human promise stands against the Lord’s promises of provision, care, and justice.
VIctor Vieira
Pastor, professor, and best-selling author from Vitória, but currently living in Kansas
The first time sports betting caught my attention was during a soccer game break when I heard the phrase Profetize na Bet! [“Prophesy at Bet,” the slogan of a sports-betting company]. Somehow, I began to realize that that phrase in that situation was intentionally out of place. In Brazil, the word prophesy is closely linked to prosperity theology, which is widespread in Brazil. Linking this word to sports betting is communicating to the punter that, by betting, he may be determining his financial improvement in some way. In that moment, I knew that, unfortunately, this concept would deeply occupy the hearts of an entire generation.
The apostle James teaches us that we are tempted by our own lust (James 1:14–15). In other words, the desire to get rich quickly and easily is already within us. What sports betting does is provide the opportunity to unleash that sinful desire, and with sin comes death and destruction.
Gambling is not something that is explicitly listed in the Bible as a sin, but trying to make a living through betting is greed, and getting rich without work is an illusion and a deception. Not every open door or opportunity is an option for the believer.
Our actions are about the intention and inclination of the heart. Addiction is idolatry, even when it is socially acceptable or government regulated.The false projection we Christians create of a successful life, where we overvalue economic achievements at the expense of the deeper aspects of life, causes our frantic pursuit of wealth to justify actions that are incompatible with our faith and the way of life that a disciple of Jesus is called to embrace.
Obeying the teaching of 1 Thessalonians is fundamental in this conversation: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (4:11–12).
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