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Under Review in the Senate Since 2024, Bill 3.739 Aims to Transform Bolsa Família into a Restricted Card, Blocking Bets, Bars, and Cigarettes While Allowing Purchases Only for Food, Medicine, Water Bills, Electricity, Internet, and Gas at Machines Enabled to Ensure Food Purposes and Protect Family Budgets
While the Senate reviews Bill 3.739/2024, a new proposal for Bolsa Família aims to replace cash withdrawals with a locked card, with strict technological rules regarding where and how the benefit can be used in the beneficiaries’ daily lives.
The text arises in response to data from the Central Bank indicating that around R$ 10.5 billion was spent by beneficiaries on gambling and betting platforms between January and August 2024. The idea is to safeguard the food budget, restricting the machine to essential spending and blocking, in real time, consumption deemed unnecessary with Bolsa Família funds.
How the Restricted Bolsa Família Card Aims to Function
Bill 3.739/2024 proposes to swap the current model, which allows unrestricted cash withdrawals, for a system similar to a food voucher. Instead of withdrawing the full cash amount, the beneficiary would use a card linked to Bolsa Família at authorized establishment machines.
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Control will be based on the National Classification of Economic Activities.
Each CNPJ has an activity code, and the banking system will use this information to decide whether a purchase with the Bolsa Família card will be approved or declined.
In practice, the card will be automatically rejected at machines registered in categories classified as non-essential.
Attempts to purchase at bars, tobacco shops, gaming houses, and establishments related to betting will be blocked in real time, preventing the benefit’s funds from being redirected for such consumption.
Which Expenses the Government Aims to Block with Bets, Bars, and Cigarettes
The proposal for a restricted card for Bolsa Família arises directly from concerns about the growth of gambling.
According to data cited in the justification, beneficiaries are said to have moved around R$ 10.5 billion in gambling and betting platforms between January and August 2024, a volume considered incompatible with the social purpose of the program.
Senator Cleitinho, the bill’s author, argues that this leakage of funds jeopardizes the fight against hunger.
The reading is that when the money from Bolsa Família goes to bets, bars, and cigarettes, less funding reaches the tables of vulnerable families to ensure food, medicine, and basic bills.
Therefore, the text directly targets these segments.
Purchases at betting houses, establishments registered as gambling, bars, and tobacco shops would be blocked by the system, regardless of the amount.
The logic is simple: the Bolsa Família card would only work in activity codes linked to essential consumption, excluding all the rest.
What Will Still Be Possible to Pay with the Benefit
At the same time it tightens control, the project details what would still be allowed for payment with the Bolsa Família card.
The premise is to restrict the benefit to expenses that ensure minimum dignity and basic household maintenance. Among the authorized categories are:
Food and Nutrition
Purchases at supermarkets, fruit and vegetable shops, butcher shops, and bakeries. This group includes fresh food, basic basket items, and products that compose the family’s daily diet.
Health and Hygiene
Acquisition of medicines and personal care items at pharmacies. The goal is to ensure that Bolsa Família continues to assist with medicine and hygiene products, especially in low-income households.
Basic Clothing
Payments in popular clothing and shoe stores. The focus is on basic pieces necessary for everyday life, not luxury items.
Household Utilities and Essential Bills
Water, electricity, internet bills, and the purchase of cooking gas are included in the set of authorized expenses.
The aim is to allow the Bolsa Família card to cover part of the minimum infrastructure of the home, reducing the risk of cutting off essential services.
End of Unrestricted Withdrawal and Impact on Budget Organization
If Bill 3.739/2024 is approved as is, the unrestricted freedom to use the Bolsa Família resources will cease to exist.
Instead of withdrawing the full amount in cash and deciding where to spend, the beneficiary will have their consumption monitored at the exact moment of purchase, according to the type of establishment where the machine is registered.
This requires immediate adaptation by families. There are cases where cash is used to negotiate discounts, pay off old debts, or assist relatives in emergencies.
With the restricted card, all that flexibility diminishes, as the benefit will be locked in specific categories.
In practice, the Bolsa Família budget will, by law, be channeled almost exclusively to food, health, basic clothing, and household bills.
The project also includes measures for financial education and guidance to avoid excessive debt. The concern is that, even with control over the use of the Bolsa Família card, some beneficiaries may still resort to costly credit, informal loans, or new debts to maintain consumption patterns that are no longer covered by the program.
Progress in the Senate and Warning for Those Who Depend on Bolsa Família
The progress of Bill 3.739/2024 in the Senate requires attention from all registered individuals in the Cadastro Único who receive Bolsa Família, as the text directly affects shopping routines and the way the benefit is used. If approved, the impact will be immediate on the machines of the establishments.
Among the central points of the debate are:
The technical blocking of expenses on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and betting platforms.
The direct response to the billion-dollar spending on virtual bets over the past year.
The limitation of using the balance exclusively for food, medicine, basic clothing, and household infrastructure.
For the beneficiary, following the legislative discussion is essential to avoid being caught off guard at the market, pharmacy, or electricity bill, should the card be declined for being linked to Bolsa Família in an unauthorized category.
Knowing exactly what changes helps to plan the budget and avoid embarrassments at the register.
In light of the possibility of seeing Bolsa Família become a locked card that blocks bets, bars, and cigarettes while only allowing essential expenses at the machine, do you believe this change truly protects the food on the table or does it take away too much freedom from those who rely on the benefit to organize their daily lives?
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