Finance Ministry ordinances due Friday require loss and addiction warnings in every betting ad from July 17, while banning urgency tactics, investment framing and promotion of unlicensed platforms.
Brazil has imposed stricter advertising rules on online betting companies, requiring every ad from an authorized operator to carry a Finance Ministry warning such as “betting makes you lose money,” “betting can cause addiction,” or “betting is not an investment.” The measures, announced by Finance Minister Dario Durigan and due to be published Friday with a July 17 compliance deadline, ban marketing that presents betting as easy money, an investment or a financial solution for families, as well as ads that create urgency or use winnings and prize histories as bait. The rules also prohibit commentators, pundits and narrators from using their authority or a veneer of technical backing to steer consumers toward specific wagers, and the government said it will take a zero-tolerance approach to advertising that reaches children or adolescents. A second ordinance with the Justice Ministry bars media outlets, advertising agencies and influencers from promoting operators not authorized in Brazil. Authorities said 56,000 illegal betting sites and about 1,000 influencer profiles have been taken down since regulation began, while around 1 million bettors have been placed in mandated self-exclusion for failing to meet legal requirements. Violators face fines of up to 20% of revenue, suspensions of up to 180 days and, for serious repeat offences, license revocation. The move builds on Brazil’s broader betting framework, which became effective for authorized operators in January 2025, and adds to earlier restrictions including a bar on licensed operators accepting virtual assets or cryptocurrency for transactions.