Brazil Weighs Stricter Rules on Gambling Advertising

Brazil’s Senate Sports Commission has recently addressed increasing concern over gambling advertisements and their influence on the public, with special emphasis on vulnerable groups.

Lawmakers are currently reviewing two separate bills, PL 2,985/2023 and PL 3,405/2023, that aim to tighten rules around how betting companies can market their services.

Senator Portinho: “The Situation Is Getting Worse.”

The first bill, introduced by Senator Styvenson Valentim, who is also a captain in the Brazilian military police, would impose a sweeping ban on all gambling ads by revising the 2018 legislation that initially allowed online betting in the country. 

The second bill takes a narrower approach, suggesting limits on celebrity and athlete endorsements and prohibiting promotions from influencers and sports teams.

Senator Carlos Portinho, who is overseeing the first bill, voiced frustration with the current system. 

“We waited a year for [gambling] to be regulated and effectively enforced,” he said. 

“The situation is getting worse. Advertising is massive and is directed at people who are often not even the target audience, like children.”

The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), which oversees gambling regulation, had previously issued Ordinance No. 1,231 to curb irresponsible ads, emphasizing content should avoid glamourizing betting or targeting minors. 

These guidelines came into effect alongside the legal launch of Brazil’s betting market on January 1. However, enforcing them hasn’t been easy.

“When we receive a complaint, we carry out an analysis, and the team proceeds to open an inspection process to remove the content,” SPA’s Daniele Correa Cardoso told the commission. 

“The challenge is precisely the speed at which this happens, considering that we are talking about a digital environment,” Cardoso added. 

Current Safeguards Don’t Go Far Enough 

Critics argue that the current safeguards don’t go far enough. “We don’t think it’s enough to have a message saying ‘play responsibly’ as if that were washing our hands and transferring [responsibility] to the individual gambler,” said public defender Thiago Henrique Cunha Basílio.

Others pointed to a bigger threat: the vast shadow market. Alexandre Fonseca, SuperBet Brazil’s chief executive officer, estimated there are around 20,000 illegal gambling sites operating in the country. 

“That’s where gambling addicts and minors end up,” said Fonseca.

Nonetheless, not everyone supports tighter restrictions. Pietro Cardia Lorenzoni of the ANJL (Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias) warned that too much regulation could backfire. 

“Brazilian consumers still don’t know what is legal and what is illegal,” he noted. “Advertising is a way of informing consumers about the legal market,” he added. 

So far, no vote has been scheduled on either bill.Last November, the Senate initiated a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry of Bets aimed at assessing the fast development and alleged irregularities of online betting operators.