The Ministry of Finance has established stricter rules for betting advertising through ordinances published in the Official Gazette of the Union.
The measures take effect as of July 17 and must be followed in any and all advertising, promotion, or marketing action involving fixed-odds betting.
The initiative aims to curb abusive advertising, protecting consumers against ads that promise easy winnings and making risk warnings about gambling clearer.
What changes in practice
The first major determination relates to risk alerts. Now, clearly, ordinance 1,964 requires that all betting advertising include one of the following alerts:
In addition, the text must be horizontal and be clear and legible. As for size, the warning must be proportional, occupying at least 10% of the length or size of the ad.
Other more specific rules were established by interministerial ordinance No. 73 from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA/MF), the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP).
With this, some abusive betting advertising practices now clearly become violations, such as:
- Prohibits associating betting with investment, income, or wealth accumulation;
- Prohibits promises of easy winnings and financial success;
- Prevents the display of winning bets as a promotional tool;
- Restricts content that encourages impulsive or excessive betting;
- Requires websites, media, and influencers to verify whether the advertiser is licensed;
- Requires clear identification of the operator and authorization number;
- Prohibits the use of false odds data or claims about the influence of bettor skill.
- Requires digital platforms to take action to prevent access by minors;
- Classifies any betting advertising targeted at minors under 18 as abusive.
During a press conference to announce the new betting advertising rules, the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, stated that all channels are subject to these rules.
Referring directly to game commentators, he also stated that “it is neither lawful nor regular to mislead the consumer by mixing in an expert’s commentary, saying that the best bet is this one or that the way to go is that one, giving it a veneer of technical backing.”
Enforcement of betting advertising rules
Since the ordinance was created in cooperation between SPA, Senacon, and MJSP, both agencies are responsible for enforcement.
Thus, the same betting advertisement may fall under Law 14,790/2023 on fixed-odds betting, the Consumer Protection Code, or specific rules on advertising and protection of minors.
There will also be increased monitoring of social media and advertising campaigns, including paid betting placements made by YouTubers, tipsters, streamers, affiliates, influencers, and celebrities.
Also according to Minister Durigan, 56,000 illegal betting sites and about a thousand influencer profiles were taken down.
Fines and consequences
Even though the ordinance does not explicitly specify the penalties resulting from non-compliance with the new betting advertising rules, there are fines and even license suspension.
Under Law 14,790, companies will be warned, fined, have their activity partially suspended for up to 180 days, or even have their license revoked.
The fine amount ranges from 0.1% to 20% of operators’ revenue and, in serious cases, can reach the cap of R$ 2 billion.