Podcast “Regra do Jogo” premieres to discuss betting regulation in Brazil.

The sports betting and online gaming market in Brazil has gained a new space for debate: the podcast "Regra do Jogo" ( Rules of the Game ) debuted with an episode focused on the regulatory, legal, and communication challenges surrounding the sector. The program brings together João Motta, a lawyer specializing in games and lotteries and president of the Lottery Games Commission of the OAB-RJ (Brazilian Bar Association, Rio de Janeiro chapter), and Gabriel Medeiros, an advertising professional and brand strategist, who co-hosts the show with Marcelo Barros, a communicator with experience in sports betting. According to the creators, the aim is to fill a gap that didn't yet exist: the intersection between law and advertising within an ecosystem that involves millions of Brazilians.

The premiere episode was set against the backdrop of the political and regulatory pressure the sector is facing less than 30 days before the presidential elections. Medeiros got straight to the point: “The fact is that the political chaos of the 29 days remaining until the election is greatly interfering with this market. The lack of regulatory predictability—if you ask any CFO or CMO of any major betting company today, they'll say: 'I'll predict this after the election.'"

The ecosystem map

João Motta detailed the different layers that make up the gaming universe in Brazil, often confused in public debate. On one side, there are the federally accredited companies, which paid R$ 30 million in concession fees plus R$ 5 million in guarantees to operate under Law 14.790, published in 2024 by the Lula government to replace the previous regulation from 2018. On the other, there are the state lotteries, currently operating in Paraná, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Paraíba, Maranhão, and Tocantins, and the capitalization schemes regulated by SUSEP (Superintendence of Private Insurance). Municipal lotteries, which proliferated after a Supreme Federal Court decision in 2020, were suspended by an injunction from Minister Castro Nunes Marques in December 2025.

“Everything gets lumped together, especially in an election year,” said Motta. “They decided that betting and gambling are the state’s number one enemy, and so this becomes gunpowder for the ammunition of electoral propaganda.”

Legal uncertainty and the parallel market

The theme that most mobilized the three participants was the combination of stricter regulations on the legal market and the unhindered growth of the illegal market. Motta warned that the logic of federally accredited companies, which presented business plans with projected investments in advertising as part of the public accreditation process, is being compromised by the restrictions imposed subsequently. “If I had paid R$ 30 million, presented a business plan that is an integral part of this public process, and today I am experiencing a progressive tax increase, which has already reached 13%, plus potential restrictions on advertising, at the very least economic rebalancing would be warranted.”

Barros elaborated on the argument about the parallel market. He estimated, based on data circulating in the sector, that the illegal betting market is orders of magnitude larger than the legal one: for every licensed operation, there would be approximately 30 illegal ones. "On one side you have the parallel market growing, and on the other you have regulatory power cracking down on the legalized market," he summarized. Anatel, mentioned in the debate, reportedly acknowledged that it does not have the technical capacity to block the electronic addresses of all irregular platforms.

The Casa TV case and the responsibility of influencers.

Marcelo Barros analyzed the episode of the Argentina vs. Cape Verde game broadcast by Casa TV during the Copa América, which had negative repercussions for airing real-time betting promotions to a massive audience. For him, the situation exemplifies how a move by mainstream media contaminates subsequent layers: influencer Virgínia was allegedly instructed to publish a video promoting a super-odd during the game's halftime and ended up being fined. “You start to escalate the problem. And I think the origin is always the mainstream media when it starts something. If you speak to 3 million people, you're bringing the idea to others to do the same thing.”

Barros brought up his own experience: for two years, he presented the "Minuto Bet Nacional" segment on TV Record, as part of the "Balanço Geral" and "Cidade Alerta" programs. He described the internal process of complying with Law 14.790 as permanently tense. "We couldn't even mention the names of the betting sites, we couldn't even mention the name of the betting company. There were a series of restrictions." According to him, the same care was required in a later project with Betano.

The provisional measure that may be coming soon.

One of the tensest moments of the episode was the discussion about an alleged provisional measure that President Lula had signaled he wanted to issue to restrict the sector. “What is apparently being discussed in the market is that he will prohibit online gambling; casinos, lottery, roulette; he will prohibit sportsbooks ,” stated Motta. He cautioned, however, that a provisional measure has a maximum term of 120 days before expiring, and that the effectiveness of the rule would depend on the exact text and the election results. “Depending on how it is written, it may have zero impact on the market, because it may not even become a reality. Or it could become a reality on Monday, six days before the election.”

Medeiros was more skeptical: "If she's purely focused on winning votes, she won't have any impact."

The voice the market is missing.

The group converged on a common diagnosis: the licensed betting sector is not responding adequately to the political and media pressure it faces. Barros cited that Jornal Nacional (a major Brazilian news program) dedicated a minute and a half to the Casa TV case without any counterpoint from the market. Motta reported that, in a recent closed-door meeting with President Lula, in which representatives from various sectors were heard, the betting sector had no representative. “It was the Church caucus, it was agribusiness, it was entrepreneurship. To talk about gambling, there wasn't a single representative from the betting sector.”

The presenters advocated for the creation of a parliamentary front for the sector, similar to the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture and the Parliamentary Front for Entrepreneurship, with regular meetings between representatives of the legislative, executive, and market branches. Barros summarized the position: “There is no lack of money. What is lacking is the will and determination to fight. And it is not a thankless fight. The reasons are very fair and very simple to explain.”

The Rule of the Game program anticipates the participation of CEOs, executives, influencers, esports organizations, analysts, and experts from various sectors of the ecosystem in upcoming episodes.