Imagine an employee who, during work hours, starts to follow games and make bets on their cell phone. As time passes, their productivity declines. They begin to ask for money from their employer and colleagues, arrive late, and in extreme situations, use company resources to fuel their addiction. The employer’s immediate reaction would be to fire them for just cause.
This worker’s situation becomes more complex if they have a gambling-related disorder. This is where a seemingly simple issue becomes one of the new challenges in labor relations.
Consequences of Online Betting
The explosion of online sports betting has made a habit that was once restricted to the private sphere produce consequences within companies. The problem is no longer just about the money lost by the bettor, but also about productivity, conflicts between colleagues, misuse of corporate equipment, debt, and in severe cases, fraud or embezzlement.
It is essential not to treat different situations as if they were equivalent. A person who makes a recreational bet outside of work hours is in a completely different situation than someone who uses the company computer to bet during work hours. And both are different from a worker who has developed a gambling disorder.
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Legislation and Just Cause
Labor legislation provides for “constant practice of games of chance” as a hypothesis for just cause. However, this does not turn any bet into a serious offense. Just cause is the maximum penalty in an employment relationship and requires a concrete analysis of the conduct.
The fact that an employee bets does not necessarily determine just cause, but how this conduct affects the employment relationship is key. The scenario changes when the possibility of ludopathy, or gambling disorder, appears. The company should not try to diagnose its employees, but it also cannot ignore clear signs of possible illness.
If a conduct that apparently justifies punishment is related to a health problem, the company needs to evaluate the situation with caution, seek specialized guidance, and preserve the confidentiality of medical information. This does not mean transforming the disease into a free pass.
Prevention and Responsible Conduct
A possible gambling disorder does not authorize fraud, embezzlement, forgery, or other illicit practices. Health protection does not eliminate responsibility for serious actions. The challenge is to distinguish what is a consequence of a possible illness from what constitutes deliberate and incompatible conduct with the employment contract.
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Companies should ask themselves not only “can we fire?” but also “are we conducting this case in a legally correct manner?” The answer begins with prevention. Internal policies need to establish clear rules on the use of cell phones, computers, and other corporate resources.
Leaders should be prepared to recognize warning signs without trying to make diagnoses. Human Resources, occupational health, and legal teams need to have a defined flow for sensitive situations. The regulation of betting in Brazil has incorporated mechanisms for responsible gaming, including self-exclusion from platforms, which can be an additional tool for people who recognize difficulty in controlling their gaming behavior.
The corporate environment cannot become an extension of the employee’s private life, but it also cannot turn a blind eye when a personal problem starts to produce concrete effects on work. Not every bet is a labor offense, and not every inappropriate behavior can be ignored. And a disease does not automatically erase responsibility for illicit acts.
Between automatic punishment and omission, there is a safer path: information, prevention, reception, adequate investigation, and proportionality. Online betting is a reality, and the challenge now is to prevent it from becoming another source of illness, conflict, and labor liabilities within companies.
