Betting companies support new advertising rules announced by the government.
The online sports betting sector has welcomed the new advertising rules announced by the federal government. Platforms, addiction experts, and industry representatives have positively assessed the measures, which increase requirements for companies' communication and hold operators and influencers responsible for irregularities in campaigns.
Interministerial decree No. 73 was published this Friday (11), according to Correio Braziliense, and formalized an unprecedented joint action between the Ministry of Finance, the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP). The document regulates advertising, communication and the offering of fixed-odds betting.
The enforcement of the new rules will be distributed among the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA/MF), the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon/MJSP), and the National Secretariat of Digital Rights (SNDD/MJSP).
Obligations and prohibitions for the sector
Among the changes established by the ordinance, all advertising material must include mandatory warnings. Advertisements will have to display messages such as "gambling makes you lose money," "gambling can cause addiction," and "gambling is not an investment," in a model similar to that adopted in cigarette and alcoholic beverage campaigns.
Platforms are also prohibited from adopting strategies that create a sense of urgency to encourage betting, present the activity as a form of investment or financial solution, use previous winnings as an incentive for new rounds, or mislead the consumer. When contracted influencers violate these rules, the companies themselves may be punished, and the irregular content must be removed from the air.
The violations will be investigated independently by both Senacon, within the scope of consumer law, and by SPA, in accordance with the Betting Law. In addition to financial penalties, the definitive application of sanctions may lead to the initiation of administrative proceedings by Secom to suspend or cancel the offender's registration in the National Registry of Advertising Agents (Midiacad).
Industry assessment and experts
According to Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire, legal consultant for the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and partner at the Betlaw law firm, the regulations are part of a natural process of regulatory maturation. “The measures continue the sector's self-regulation, which involves learning about the best forms of responsible advertising. This is the trend for the coming months: the improvement of advertising, based on a clear demonstration of what the sector is, that is, highlighting that betting is entertainment, not a profit-making mechanism,” he states.
Daniel Fortune, a digital content creator focused on raising awareness about gambling, believes that the tightening of rules contributes to consolidating a safer environment. “The new measures represent an important step towards maturing the gambling market in Brazil. Stricter rules for advertising and greater accountability for platforms and influencers help to curb practices that create unrealistic expectations about gambling. Those who already operate responsibly view this regulation favorably, because it strengthens the legal market, hinders the operation of irregular operators, and places the protection of the gambler at the center of communication. Gambling should be presented as entertainment, never as a promise of profit or a financial solution,” he states.
Cristiano Costa, a psychologist at the Brazilian Company for Support of Compulsive Gamblers (Ebac), argues that the new limits strengthen the educational role of communication in the sector. “Advertising should inform, not create unrealistic expectations. Messages that stimulate urgency or associate gambling with financial security can distort the consumer's perception. By establishing limits for this type of communication, the regulation contributes to a more conscious relationship between the gambler and the activity, preserving the recreational nature of betting,” he says.
Actions against gambling addiction
Alongside stricter advertising regulations, the federal government expanded initiatives aimed at assisting people affected by gambling addiction. The Unified Health System (SUS) strengthened its specialized care network, expanding in-person consultations and telehealth services with psychologists and psychiatrists.
The Ministries of Health and Finance have developed a Centralized Self-Exclusion Platform in partnership. This tool will allow any citizen to voluntarily block their own CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID) to prevent access to gambling platforms and stop receiving advertising from the sector. The government also created the Brazil Health Observatory, a system designed to gather data on the impacts of gambling, identify risky behaviors, and provide information to SUS (Brazilian public health system) teams.
Representatives from betting companies argue that the challenge now is to combine clear rules with efficient oversight. Diego Bittencourt, COO and Partner of Start Bet, argues that the government's objective is not to restrict communication from those who comply with the rules, but to establish criteria and mechanisms that strengthen responsible gambling. "Broad prohibition measures could end up reducing the space for regulated operators and opening the way for those who operate outside the law, which goes against the goal of making the sector safer," he states.
André Medeiros, Country Manager of Brazino777 in Brazil, agrees. “Responsible advertising plays an important role within the regulated market because it allows consumers to identify which platforms are authorized to operate in Brazil and comply with all legal requirements. Any restrictions on the communication of legalized companies tend to reduce this differentiation and open more space for irregular operators, who do not offer the same guarantees of security, responsible gaming, and user protection. Strengthening oversight and combating illegal platforms are more effective paths,” he states.
