The approval of the text united government and opposition senators, who expressed concern about the effect of these bets, especially on vulnerable sections of the population. Bill 2.985/2023 now goes to the Chamber of Deputies. Among these restrictions is a ban on adverts or advertising featuring athletes, artists, communicators, influencers or authorities. 

The bill, by Senator Styvenson Valentim (PSDB-RN), had been approved in the morning by the Sports Commission (CEsp), in the form of a substitute (alternative text) by the rapporteur, Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ). The final vote was to take place in the Communications and Digital Law Committee (CCDD), which has not yet been set up. For this reason, the text was sent to the Plenary with a request for urgency. For this reason, the text was sent to the Plenary with a request for urgency.

The original bill would have amended Law 13.756 of 2018, which deals with the destination of bets, to completely ban the dissemination of this type of game in any media. The text presented by Portinho, however, removes the total ban and inserts a series of permissions and prohibitions for the promotion of bets into Law 14.790 of 2023, which regulates betting.

- The proposal is to find a path not of a total ban on sports betting advertising, but of a regulation capable of disciplining betting advertising, greatly reducing the reach to young people and children, who in fact are not or should not be the target audience for bets, avoiding the ambush marketing present above all in sports stadiums and arenas, but on the other hand valuing advertising properties and sponsorship - said the senator when reading the report.

Portinho recalled that, after the law regulated the sports betting market, the sector was unable to regulate itself with regard to advertising. Often, he recalled, there are only catchphrases in the adverts, reminding punters to gamble responsibly. This, in the rapporteur's view, is not enough, especially in the case of people who suffer from gambling addiction.

Impoverishment

Both the rapporteur and the author of the text, Senator Styvenson Valentim, expressed concern about gambling addiction, which has become a public health issue, and the fact that betting takes money away from even the most vulnerable sections of the population.

- People are degrading themselves, losing their assets, becoming psychologically ill, even falling victim to suicide or loan sharks. These are people who believe that they are going to create wealth, become rich by playing because they have the sad illusion of an influencer or a person who lies to them on social media or on TV, in an advert saying - with an imported car, an expensive watch, very well dressed - that people are going to have that same standard of living by playing bets - lamented the author, who praised the balance of the report. 

Research by the DataSenado Institute carried out in 2024 projected that 13 per cent of Brazilians aged 16 or over - the equivalent of 22.13 million people - had taken part in betting in the 30 days prior to the survey. According to the Political Panorama 2024: sports betting, digital scams and debt, most bettors (52 per cent) earn up to two minimum wages a month. 

Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), author of another bill to further restrict betting advertising (PL 3.405/2023), said that although he was against any kind of advertising, he could not help but vote in favour of the substitute. For him, the rapporteur managed to create a text that was accepted by almost all the senators and which, although it doesn't solve the problem, could reduce the impact of this type of advertising on the population.

- The figures are there, figures from various sectors, including the National Trade Confederation: mass indebtedness in Brazil. (...) You take away from production, you take away from jobs and you throw it to tycoons. (...) The question of productivity has been lost along the way, the productivity of Brazilians, who, in order to support their addiction, have to resign, have to go on holiday to get the money to pay the loan sharks - said Girão.

Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF), chair of the Sports Committee, said that the substitute was constructed with common sense. For her, the restrictions are necessary, since the sector, instead of regulating itself, has made ‘manoeuvres’ to spread the advertising of bets even further.

- We've seen this mass dissemination of betting advertising, which has brought absolutely nothing... in fact, it's brought a lot of people with addiction problems, suicide rates. We can't blame the industry, but we have to do a mea-culpa here in the House, because this could have been done from the first moment [when the betting regulations were approved].

All the senators in plenary were in favour of approving the text.

Football

During the discussion, the author and rapporteur cited the attempt by football clubs to get the public to oppose the bill. In a letter released at the beginning of the week, several clubs expressed concern about the ban on advertising boards in stadiums and arenas, which are directly linked to club and broadcaster sponsorships.

Portinho said he would prefer to keep the original text, with a complete ban on bookmakers' advertising, but changed the text to seek an understanding and not create legal uncertainty for the sector, since the activity has already been authorised and regulated by previous laws.

As a result, despite the ban on betting advertising in stadiums and sports grounds, the text provides for exceptions when the betting agent is the official sponsor of the event or holds the rights to the official name of the stadium, arena, event or competition; and when the betting agent is a sponsor on the uniform of the teams taking part in the match or event in progress, limited to one advertiser per team.

What will be prohibited

• advertising of bets during the live broadcast of the sporting event;
• broadcasting dynamic odds or odds updated in real time during the live broadcast, except when displayed exclusively on the pages, websites or applications of the licensed agents;
• advertising on printed media;
• boosting content outside the permitted times, even if it originates from the official channels of the betting operators;
• use in advertising of the image or participation of athletes, former athletes, artists, communicators, influencers, authorities, members of professional technical committees or any natural person, even as an extra. Exception: former athletes can advertise their bets after five years;
• direct or indirect sponsorship by fixed-odds bookmakers of referees and other members of the refereeing team in sports competitions;
• presentation to the public of advertising pieces that show betting as socially attractive, as a way of promoting personal success, an alternative to employment, a solution to financial problems, a source of additional income, a form of financial investment, a guarantee or promise of financial return;
• use of animations, drawings, mascots, characters or any audiovisual resources, including those generated by artificial intelligence, aimed directly or subliminally at children and young people;
• promotion of communication programmes and actions that directly or subliminally teach or encourage the practice of gambling;
• sending messages, calls, correspondence, notifications via apps or any other form of communication without the prior, free, informed and express consent of the recipient;
• broadcasting advertising with sexist, misogynistic or discriminatory content, including the objectification of the human body or the association of gambling with gender stereotypes;
• static or electronic advertising of fixed-odds bets in stadiums and sports centres, with the exceptions included by Portinho in the case of event sponsors, stadium rights holders or when the bet is a sponsor on the teams' uniforms.

 What will be allowed

• advertising on free-to-air and pay-TV, streaming, social networks and the internet between 7.30pm and midnight.
• radio advertising in two periods: from 9am to 11am and from 5pm to 7.30pm.
• advertising in live sports broadcasts in the 15 minutes before the start of the match and in the 15 minutes after the end of the match.
• advertising, at any time, on websites, pages or applications owned by those sponsored by fixed odds betting operators, access to which depends on the voluntary act of the user.
• display of the brand of sponsors and betting operators in calls to announce the broadcast of sporting events aired from 9pm to 6am, as long as they do not contain an invitation, incentive or promise of winnings related to betting; do not refer to odds, odds or promotional bonuses; and comply with the indicative classification;
• advertising betting on social media platforms or other internet applications to authenticated users who are demonstrably over 18.

In the latter case, the rapporteur's proposal ensures that the user of the digital platform or service has the right to easily disable the receipt of communication, advertising and marketing content related to betting, by means of settings.

Changes

While the matter was being dealt with in CEsp, Portinho decided to partially accept four amendments, one from Senator Romário (PL-RJ) and three from Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE).

One of the amendments tabled by Girão suggested banning the participation of former athletes in publicity for the games. The amendment was accepted, but Portinho included in the text an exception suggested by Senator Romário: the possibility of participation by former athletes whose careers ended at least five years ago.

Discouraging phrase

According to the text, advertisements must display warnings to discourage gambling and warn about its harmful effects, in a clear and ostentatious manner, with the obligatory phrase: ‘Betting causes addiction and damage to you and your family’. The phrase, according to Portinho, was chosen during the public hearings on the project. 

For the rapporteur, the effectiveness of measures restricting advertising as an instrument to protect public health is backed up by concrete evidence. He cited the case of the anti-smoking policy adopted in Brazil, which resulted in a reduction of around 40 per cent in the number of smokers after the adoption of measures such as the ban on cigarette advertising.

Sponsorship

Currently, the law prohibits operators from acquiring, licensing or financing the acquisition of rights to sporting events held in the country. Portinho's text, however, allows betting agents to sponsor sports teams by affixing their brands to the teams' uniforms, equipment and field material. The prohibition remains for uniforms worn by athletes under the age of 18.

The sale of uniforms of sports teams sponsored by agents, when aimed at children and young people or offered in children's sizes, may not contain the sponsor's brand, logo or any other identifying element.

Sponsorship of sporting, cultural or journalistic events and programmes, including those broadcast on radio, television or digital platforms, may take place without time slot restrictions, by simply displaying the sponsor's brand, logo or other identifying element, and the insertion of advertising messages other than those strictly necessary to identify the sponsorship is prohibited.

In addition, the report authorises bets to make use of tax incentive laws and to use federal, state, municipal or district incentive projects to sponsor sporting or cultural events.

Joint and several liability

Under the current law, companies providing advertising or publicity, including internet application providers, must delete irregular campaigns after the Ministry of Finance has been notified. Also according to the law, it is up to internet connection and internet application providers to block websites or delete applications that offer bets in breach of the rules after notification.

The approved text adds that non-compliance with these determinations by the digital platform, advertising company or internet application provider will imply joint and several liability for the content published.