Superbet launches Superline and invests R$ 60 million to combat gambling addiction.
Superbet launched a 24-hour helpline on Monday (August 31st), via phone and WhatsApp, aimed at people with gambling addiction. The initiative is accompanied by a R$ 60 million advertising campaign, premiering with a commercial on TV Globo starring former player Cafu.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, users assisted by the helpline will be referred to the IPJ (Institute for Player Protection), a unit created by betting companies that will receive additional funding from Superbet. The service has social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, and has an initial capacity for up to 3.500 consultations per month. The company states that it will adjust this scale according to demand.
The company's CEO, Alexandre Fonseca, stated that the campaign, named "Superlinha," is the second largest media investment in Superbet's history, surpassed only by the advertising campaign carried out during the World Cup. "It's a considerable investment, and I can't even pinpoint the total cost of the campaign," he declared. Each 30-second spot during the 19 PM Globo telenovela costs approximately R$ 600, according to the broadcaster's price list.
The campaign will also be promoted on social media and in stadiums where Superbet is a sponsor, such as São Paulo's. "We're going to use all the media resources we have here at Superbet," said Fonseca.
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Education, not prohibition
The executive rejected the claim that the campaign has commercial aims. "It's not a campaign aimed at acquiring users or in any way generating capital for the company as a brand," he stated. According to Fonseca, the solution to the addiction problem lies in consumer education, not restrictive measures. "Some advocate taxation, some advocate banning the activity, others advocate stricter regulation. We, as experts in this, believe that the root of the problem is consumer education."
The CEO also spoke out against the ban on gambling advertisements, arguing that this would equate regulated betting companies—which paid R$30 million for licenses and follow anti-addiction rules—with illegal brands. "My only differentiating factor as a regulated betting company in Brazil is being able to advertise extensively," he said.
The burden of addiction in the country.
The National Survey on Alcohol and Drugs, published in 2025, estimated that approximately 1,4 million Brazilians (0,8% of the population) present symptoms consistent with a probable diagnosis of Gambling Disorder. However, psychiatrist Rodrigo Machado, from the Hospital das Clínicas, points out that Brazil faces an additional problem: the rate of gamblers at risk of developing the disorder exceeds 7% in the country, while in other countries this rate is between 1% and 3%. "The number of diagnoses of gambling addiction takes longer to increase and is still expected to grow in light of the recent legalization in the country," he stated.
In Norway, the rate of players falling ill dropped from 1,4% in 2019 to 0,6% in 2022, after the government created a state duopoly and banned advertising by foreign private operators. Fonseca believes that the comparison with the Norwegian model is inappropriate. “In Norway, we start from a very high level of education, a completely different economic scenario, much more stable, a much higher income, and a huge basket of basic services offered by the government,” said the CEO.
Expanding market
Despite regulatory pressures, Fonseca sees room for the sector to grow. Data from the Ministry of Finance for 2025 indicates that around 10% of the Brazilian population bets online ; in England, that figure reaches 25%. In 2025, Brazil was the third country that generated the most revenue for betting companies in the world, behind only the United States and England. The sector's revenue — including regulated and illegal bets — was estimated at between R$ 50 billion and R$ 60 billion.
The executive stated that a potential ban on online betting would transfer all of that revenue to the illegal market. "I don't see that happening, to be perfectly honest," said Fonseca, who before heading Superbet was a director at Betano and negotiated the acquisition of the naming rights for the Brazilian Championship.
