For Karen, it started with an ad and an influencer. Next came a 30 reais (€5, $5.80) bet. Then, shame, spiraling debts, using her mum’s credit card and a battle against addiction that, though calmed for now, still rages.

"If I was at a party, I’d be gambling. If I went to a restaurant or a bar, my cellphone would be in my hand. Even taking a shower, my cell phone would be in my hand. Under the shower, my arm stretched out," the 29-year-old from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, told DW.

She struggles to get a real handle on her losses, but she knows it runs to several thousand reais more than she can afford to pay back. "The credit card companies call every day," said Karen, who asked to withhold her last name as most of her family is still not aware of the issue.

While gambling addiction is an increasingly serious issue in countries across the globe, from the USA and Germany to China, stories like Karen's are part of a spike in problem gambling in Brazil. The South American country legalized online gambling in late-2018 but made no effort to legislate against its harms or its advertising until January 2025. Researchers and mental health professionals have reported an increase in cases of online betting addiction, especially among lower-income Brazilians.

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An indicator of gambling’s grip on the country is that beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia, the basic income offered by the Federal Government to poor citizens, spent approximately R$3 billion on online gambling last August, according to data from the Central Bank of Brazil. The amount equates to 20% of all the benefits paid by the program.

A 2023 study by the Federal University of Sao Paulo found that 6% of the Brazilian population say they bet on online sports betting websites (equivalent to about 9 million people) and 67% of those are 'risky gamblers' – not........

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