The federal government is preparing an ordinance with rules for online gambling and betting advertisements, including those made by digital influencers. The idea is to make it clearer that operators and those who advertise false information and games not allowed in Brazil will be held directly responsible.

Another point that the Ministry of Finance intends to highlight is the need for gambling companies to share the algorithms used in their games. Transparency is essential in order not to mislead consumers with biased and defeat-oriented data.

"We talk about the responsibility of operating companies and operating vehicles (social networks). Whether as advertising or as organic (non-push) posts," says José Francisco Manssur, special advisor to the Ministry of Finance. "We will not allow camouflaged advertising. Advertising will have to be specified. And we will punish influencers who don't follow the rules and cause harm to people."

Advertising identification

Together with the Brazilian National Council of Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), the government has established a number of rules that should be included in this ordinance. One of them is the principle of identification of advertisements: the influencer has to make it clear that the post is an advertisement.

Another principle will be the truthfulness of the information, with a ban on promises of certain earnings. The participation of children and adolescents in advertisements will also be prohibited, as well as advertisements directed at them.

Finally, the advertisement must contain the message: "Play responsibly". The form in which the message is presented, written or spoken, will also have to be included in the forthcoming regulation.

"The labelling of advertising is an old principle. But in traditional media there was a clear separation of the advertising break. With influencers, there was a fusion of content, editorial and advertising. The system was upended. Content production has become very diffuse and voluminous. First of all, the influencer has to make it clear that it is an advertisement. That's why it has to be labelled: #advertising, #paidpartnership," explains Conar president Sergio Pompilio.

Government technicians who analyse this market are suspicious of illegal movements related to it. There are indications that some celebrities' accounts on gambling platforms receive cash balances so that influencers can improperly claim that this amount comes from successful bets. Another suspicion is that of a "rigged" algorithm to prevent real bettors from winning very large amounts.

"We have to assess whether this algorithm is designed so that there are only losses or whether there are winnings in between. If there are no winnings, we are looking at a fraud offence. There have to be clear rules and who is going to control whether this algorithm is complied with or not," says Marco Antônio Araujo Júnior, a lawyer and member of the OAB's National Commission for Consumer Defence.

If the user feels harmed by the site, for example, he or she can sue the influencer for damages in the civil sphere. If the influencer is found to be involved in the company's business, he or she could be held criminally liable.
One of the great difficulties in curbing advertisements with false information is the fact that most posts are organic, explains Gustavo Mafra Leite, a specialist in Digital Marketing. This is because, according to him, the control is greater in content with paid content promotion.

Always on the alert

The Ministry of Finance is working to open in February the deadline for online gambling companies to apply for authorisation to operate in Brazil, as foreseen by the law passed at the end of last year. Companies and gamblers will have to pay taxes in Brazil and the proceeds will go to areas such as health and public safety.

Games such as "avioncito" and "tigrecito" will not be regulated, as they do not fall under fixed odds betting (where it is known how much the prize will be if the bet is won). Gambling is still banned in Brazil.

Experts advise to be wary of illegal financial promises. Another instruction in the case of links to websites is to look at the browser bar. The first sign of fraud is when the initials "http" are not accompanied by the letter "s". In other words, https, a security indicator that always carries a padlock symbol, must be displayed correctly.

In a statement, Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) says that activities aimed at deceiving, defrauding or exploiting third parties are "not allowed" on the company's platforms and mentions continuous "improvement" in the fight against suspicious activity.

"We also encourage people to report any content that they believe is against Facebook's Community Standards, Instagram's Community Standards and Meta's Advertising Guidelines through the apps themselves," the company adds.