Pix records 10% drop in transactions after banning bets in Brazil
Transactions with Pix fell by about 10% in the first few days after the ban on bets in Brazil. Banco Central system data shows a reduction in the number of trades made between Saturday (26) and Monday (28), a period immediately following the publication of medida provisória that halted new inputs on online betting platforms.
During the three days, approximately 608.6 million transactions were recorded via Pix. The result was about 10% below the average recorded on the same days of the week during the previous four weeks.
Despite the coincidence between the reduction of movements and the entry into force of the new rules for bets, the available data do not allow to state that all the fall was caused directly by the ban on bets.
Value moved by Pix also fell
The figures also show a reduction in the financial volume moved.
On Monday (28), the first business day after the publication of the measure, the operations carried out by Pix moved approximately R$ 131.5 billion.
By the previous Monday, September 21, the system had moved approximately R$ 156.6 billion.
The difference between the two periods draws attention mainly because Pix was one of the main means used for deposits and financial movements related to online betting platforms.
Government bans new deposits in bets
The change comes after the federal government published, on Friday (25), a medida provisória that prohibited the exploitation, offering, intermediation and advertising of so-called bets in Brazil.
Since the publication of the measure, platforms have been prevented from receiving new contributions from bettors.
Users who still have money in their accounts on the platforms can voluntarily withdraw the amounts by 23:59 on October 5.
From October 6, websites and betting apps are expected to go off the air. For those who do not withdraw the money within the established period, there is a schedule for the return of balances through financial institutions.
Pix continues as the main instant payment system
Even with the reduction recorded in recent days, Pix continues to move hundreds of millions of operations in the country.
The Banco Central maintains statistics on quantity, value, users and different modalities of transactions carried out by the instant payments system.
The evolution of the numbers in the coming days may indicate whether the reduction observed after the ban on bets was punctual or if there will be a more lasting change in the volume of operations carried out by the system.
