Illness due to bets affects companies with absences, employees in debt and requests for advances

The businessman deals with a challenge reported by different employers and unions: the effects of gambling illness in the work environment.

Reports of debts worth thousands of reais and family crises linked to betting losses reach human resources departments, according to ABRH (Brazilian Human Resources Association).

Abrasel (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants) cites constant requests for advance payments and employee inattention as warning signs.

Nishimori stated that he guided his employee at the request of his wife. "I said he would lose his job, his family and his home if he continued the same way," he said.

"I was tough, but I don't want to lose him", added the businessman. Outside of manic moments, the worker is not late and is skilled. "He is a good employee, very good people, and labor today is gold."

Not knowing how to deal with an unprecedented problem, the restaurant owner looked for a solution on the internet and recommended that the worker seek teleservice offered by the SUS (Unified Health System) – registration is done on Meu SUS Digital. The consultation, available throughout the country, is carried out in partnership with Hospital Sírio-Libanês and takes place under secrecy.

The problem affects everything from small businesses, such as Abrasel's members, to large companies. The cleaning products manufacturer Ypê, the steel company Gerdau and Whirlpool, owner of the Brastemp and Consul brands, organized awareness campaigns about the risks of gambling – from educational workshops to reception programs for employees who were already ill.

Companies do not report whether they suffer losses or how large the losses would be due to their workforce becoming ill.

The impact is first noticed in the human resources department, where statements about the causes of illness arrive, says the president of ABRH, Leyla Nascimento. "Although it is a recent issue and there is little data, debt and compulsive gambling affect the mental health of workers and can reduce company productivity, worsening the entire economy."

In the first year of the regulated betting market, 2025, the number of absences due to illness resulting from loss of control over gambling, called gambling disorder, rose 59.8% compared to 2024 – from 425 to 679. These are modest numbers compared to the 4.5 million absences registered by the INSS (National Social Security Institute) in the period.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) definition, the diagnosis of ludopathy occurs when the game gains more importance than central areas of life, such as family and work relationships. "As an immediate consequence, the worker can become more inattentive and careless, which can generate unusual errors, but sufficient to cause major losses and even accidents at work", says occupational physician Marcos Mendanha.

He states that gambling addiction, in itself, does not generate disability. However, 82% of patients who have some level of gaming disorder have some other associated mental disorder, according to a study by the European Psychiatric Association. "When other mental disorders become noticeable, absences from work and longer periods of absence begin."

The most common associations are dependence on substances, such as alcohol and other drugs, depression and anxiety. These disorders are more linked to workers' incapacity than ludopathy alone, according to Mendanha.

Femaco (Federation of Workers in Services, Cleanliness and Environmental and Urban Conservation), which represents cleaning workers, has been warning about these risks in an ongoing awareness campaign since May. In the lectures, documentary filmmaker Renata Ketendjian reports how she followed the routine of 23 people dependent on gambling last year and received news of the suicide of eight of them.

"While many people still treated online betting as entertainment, we saw what was happening at the base of the category: workers losing their wages, getting into debt, resorting to illegal loans, becoming emotionally ill and, in extreme cases, even committing suicide", says the president of Femaco, Roberto Santiago.

In the second half of 2025, Ypê carried out a pilot financial education project and dedicated one of the conversation circles to the topic. The lecture "Bets: Fun or Financial Trap?" showed the financial and emotional impacts of betting, the main behavioral triggers, signs of loss of control, prevention strategies and the importance of seeking professional support.

According to the company, participants received information about reception and support channels, including the Cuidar Program itself, as well as other support networks, such as CVV and Gamblers Anonymous.

"More than responding to a specific demand, the action reflects the company's strategy of acting preventively, offering information, support and tools that contribute to people's overall well-being", stated Cristiane Lacerda Mutri, the company's human resources director.

Abrasel says that the problem is already faced by many companies and can impact the work environment, team performance and the financial and emotional health of workers.

"We started to receive reports of constant requests for advances, depression and panic attacks. This is accompanied by inattention from employees and constant trips to the bathroom and playing games", says Gabriel Miranda, leader of Abrasel SP. Therefore, the entity prepared a guidance document for its members, which not without