Government changes rules for betting advertising and requires warnings in ads.

New rules for advertising online betting, known as "bets," came into effect this Friday (July 17). From now on, all betting advertisements must display a mandatory warning signed by the Ministry of Finance, similar to what already happens with cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.

The measure requires platforms and media outlets to include warnings about the risks of addiction and pathological gambling disorders in all advertising material in the sector. The model follows the standard adopted for years in tobacco and alcohol campaigns in Brazil.

The warnings must include one of the three phrases stipulated by the regulations:

⇒ “Ministry of Finance warns: Gambling can lead to addiction”;

⇒ “Ministry of Finance warns: Gambling makes you lose money”; or

"Ministry of Finance warns: Gambling is not investing."

The notice must be displayed horizontally, with clear and legible text, proportional to the advertisement, and occupying at least 10% of the total length or size of the advertisement.

Content restrictions

The federal government also published, the previous week, a decree restricting the content of betting advertising campaigns. The text prohibits advertisements that present strategies, technical opinions, or analyses capable of "inducing or influencing the placing of fixed-odds bets on a specific event or betting market."

The ordinance prohibits advertisements that:

⇒ suggest obtaining easy money or present gambling as a sign of virtue, personal, social or financial success, as a priority in life or as socially attractive behavior, including through statements by celebrities;

⇒ present gambling as a source of income, a form of investment, an alternative to employment, a solution to personal or financial problems, or a means of recovering from previous losses;

⇒ encourage excessive gambling practices or contain calls to action with promotional mechanics that suggest immediate action on the part of the gambler;

⇒ contain false or misleading information, including about the odds of winning or about the possible influence of the bettor's skill or experience on the outcome;

⇒ link betting to illegal or discriminatory attitudes or behaviors, use messages of a sexual nature or physical objectification, or offend the country's cultural beliefs and traditions; and

⇒ whether directed, directly or indirectly, at children and adolescents.

These content restrictions had already been in effect since the week before the mandatory notice was published.

Minister's position

Finance Minister Dario Durigan announced the measures last week and was emphatic regarding platforms operating without authorization. “We are restricting betting advertising in the country. I don't need to say it, because it's stating the obvious, our zero tolerance for illegal activities. So, illegal betting is not authorized under any circumstances, and neither advertisers nor media outlets are authorized to broadcast any advertising involving companies not authorized to operate in the market,” the minister declared.