The new betting advertising rules have received support from the Brazilian Association of Operators and International Providers of Games (Abrajogo).
The association issued a statement approving the changes, especially regarding the requirement for mandatory warnings and expanded consumer protection.
According to the entity, holding not only operators but the entire advertising chain accountable, including influencers and media outlets, is a fundamental measure for the sector in Brazil.
“Whoever hires, promotes, or monetizes advertising must verify in advance who is being promoted, while providers that host third-party content need to act quickly in the face of identified irregularities,” argued Witoldo Hendrich, president of Abrajogo.
Strengthening of the regulated market
One of the main points highlighted by Abrajogo is the fact that the betting advertising rules allow consumers to distinguish illegal platforms and avoid them.
From now on, every advertising piece related to betting must display specific warnings, making it easier for bettors to identify authorized operators.
As indicated by the entity, “the warnings are welcome and essential to reinforce consumers’ perception that betting should be treated exclusively as entertainment.”
However, the association indicates that certain messages required by the betting advertising rules have “an excessively negative approach to the activity.”
The criticism was directed at the text “betting makes you lose money,” which, as Abrajogo explained, “due to its absolute nature, does not contribute to a balanced understanding of the risks and may impoverish the debate.”
Regulatory communication must be clear, but according to the association, it should emphasize that the activity is entertainment permitted within a regulated and conscious environment.
Betting advertising x journalistic content
Some items determined by the betting advertising rules may create uncertainty, as pointed out by Abrajogo.
For the association, the distinction between “advertising, opinion, analysis, and sports commentary” is not entirely clear.
As a result, this could restrict sports journalists’ expressions and impact press and speech freedom.
In addition, the entity questioned the ban on prize-linked bets, one of the standards imposed by the new betting advertising rules.
In the text of the statement, Abrajogo compared this to the disclosure of Mega Virada prizes.
The best option would be for the rule to distinguish the fact from promotional use. After all, as the association pointed out, this would prevent “journalistic, statistical, institutional, or educational content from being automatically characterized as irregular advertising.”