Anticipation is building for the regulated sports betting market in Brazil after President Lula penned the bill regulating the industry. However there is still work to be done as CONAR, the country’s advertising watchdog, has published a set of self regulating rules for operators.
CONAR had chosen to wait on the Senate’s assessment of the Bets regime’s law before publishing its Annex of recommendations on sports betting advertising but now the President has endorsed the bill, the watchdog has had its input.
In the Bill’s final assessment by the Chamber of Deputies, ministers agreed that Brazilian gambling advertising must “emphasise responsible play and include warnings about its potential harm. Advertising that portrays gambling as socially attractive is prohibited”.
Responding to this, CONAR’s rules comprise ‘five principles’ that licensed operators must ensure are upheld in their marketing campaigns, safeguarding Brazilian audiences.
Firstly, the “Principle of Advertising Identification” states that operators must ensure a “clear disclosure of the advertisement’s commercial intent” and the company promoting the campaign.
This aligns itself with Brazil’s Consumer Protection Code, which ensures that advertisements are “promoted transparently and reveal their commercial nature to consumers”.
Furthermore, operators must uphold a “Principle of Veracity and Information”, as a requirement to ensure that gambling is promoted responsibly. Essentially, ads cannot “normalize” gambling as a recreational activity.
Specifically, the document states operators cannot spread “misleading or unrealistic information about winning probabilities, suggesting that higher bets increase winning chances, or implying that betting leads to enrichment”.
The Principle of Presentation of Truth and Information means that operators cannot guarantee that players will win on bets.
The Principle of Protection of Children and Adolescents requires “18+” symbols on all ads, banning child-related elements, employing age filters, and ensuring all models in ads appear over 21.
Brazilian audiences must be safeguarded by the Principle of Social Responsibility and Responsible Gaming, which prohibits promotions of excessive or irresponsible betting and emphasises the risks of financial and psychological harm.
