Bet ads to carry warnings about addiction, financial losses

Online sports betting companies will have to comply with stricter advertising rules, Brazil’s Finance Minister Dario Durigan announced on Thursday (Jul. 9) at a press conference.

The new rules will take effect on July 17. They include mandatory warning messages in advertising campaigns, restrictions on marketing strategies, and stronger oversight of companies operating irregularly.

According to the Finance Ministry, the new measures aim to curb advertising practices deemed abusive, expand consumer protection, and strengthen efforts to combat Brazil’s illegal betting market.

Mandatory warnings

One of the rules requires all advertising by authorized companies to be accompanied by warning messages similar to those used in ads for cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and medicines.

Campaigns must display one of the following messages:

• “The Finance Ministry warns: betting makes you lose money”;
• “The Finance Ministry warns: betting can cause addiction”;
• “The Finance Ministry warns: betting is not an investment.”

According to Durigan, the initiative seeks to raise public awareness about the risks associated with betting.

Advertising restrictions

The second rule, drafted jointly with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, establishes new restrictions on campaigns by authorized companies.

Among the measures are a ban on presenting betting as a form of investment or easy money, creating a sense of urgency to encourage bets, and using commentators, experts, or influencers to induce the public to gamble.

“All channels are subject to these rules. Commentators are prohibited from encouraging betting. For some people, commentators or experts who discuss matches or roundtables carry a tone of authority, and when they provide information, they also encourage gambling,” the minister said.

Durigan also stressed that the Brazilian government intends to prevent the use of technical analysis as a strategy to persuade bettors.

“It is neither lawful nor proper to mislead consumers by mixing expert commentary with claims that one bet is the best option or that a certain path should be followed, creating an appearance of technical backing,” he stated.

The new rules also prohibit the disclosure of prize histories or past results that could encourage betting.

“When prize histories are shown, loss histories are concealed,” Durigan noted.

Campaigns will also be barred from targeting children and adolescents.

“There is zero tolerance for advertising that, in any way, seeks to reach children and adolescents,” he added.

Crackdown on illegal operators

The minister reaffirmed that the government will maintain a strict stance against companies operating in the country without authorization.

“We are imposing restrictions on betting advertising in the country. And I do not need to say - though it goes without saying - that we have zero tolerance for illegal operators. Illegal betting companies are not authorized under any circumstances, and advertisers and media outlets are likewise not authorized to broadcast or publish any advertising involving companies not licensed to operate in the market,” he said.

According to the minister, the ban also applies to platforms and media outlets responsible for disseminating the campaigns.

Penalties

Companies that fail to comply with the new rules may face administrative sanctions.

The penalties include:

• fines of up to 20 percent of the operator’s revenue;
• suspension of activities for up to 180 days;
• revocation of the operating license in cases of serious repeat violations.

Oversight

Durigan also presented an overview of Brazil’s enforcement actions since the sector was regulated.

According to the minister:

• 56,000 illegal betting websites have already been taken down;
• around 1,000 influencer profiles have been removed;
• approximately 1 million bettors have been ordered to self-exclude for failing to comply with restrictions set out in the legislation.

Durigan recalled that the Supreme Court had ruled that beneficiaries of government welfare programs are barred from accessing betting websites.

He also pointed out that authorized companies themselves have been helping report clandestine operators.