Law 14,790/2023, sanctioned on December 30, provides all guidelines for the operation of betting houses and iGaming in Brazil, and one of the chapters deals with responsible advertising. In light of the fact that the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation - Conar has published Annex X, instructing operators on specific advertising rules in the regulated market.
Titled "5 Basic Guiding Principles of Sports Betting Advertising," Ambiel, Belfiore, Gomes, Hanna Advogados dissects the most important themes that sportsbooks should keep in mind when dealing with advertising.
The law firm applauds the speed with which Conar addressed the issue, highlighting the importance of the subject and its commitment to balancing the growth of the sports betting market with consumer protection and advertising integrity.
Before presenting the principles, the e-book explains the most basic need of all, which is the mandatory license to operate in the regulated market of sports betting and online games in Brazil.
The office emphasizes that the rules do not apply to sponsorship contracts, although their advertising disclosures may be included in the scope of the rules defined by Conar.
As a general rule, betting advertisements should be structured in a socially responsible manner, without departing from the purpose of demonstrating and promoting brands and characteristics, explicitly prohibiting, through text or image, directly or indirectly, including in slogans, appeals to pressure for gambling, as well as stimuli to exaggeration, excessive repetition, or irresponsible gambling.
After these preliminary explanations, Ambiel Advogados outlines the five basic principles that should guide betting house advertising:
1. Advertising identification: The commercial nature of the advertising and the identification of the advertisers' official communication channels must be clear to the consumer.
2. Truthfulness and information: There must be a truthful presentation of the service offered, refraining from promises of certain gains and results. Additionally, the advertising must contain the identification of the license granted by the Ministry of Finance.
3. Protection of children and adolescents: Advertising cannot feature children and adolescents as participants or target audiences and should not be aimed at attracting the interest of minors. The operators/advertisers' websites and social media profiles should adopt age restriction mechanisms.
4. Social responsibility and responsible gambling: Advertising cannot present bets as capable of bringing any kind of success or suggest or offer credit or loans to consumers.
5. Warning about the impacts of the activity: All advertising must include a standard warning message, reflecting social responsibility towards the general public. This message must appear legibly and can be one of the following:
a) Gamble responsibly;
b) Betting involves financial loss risks;
c) Betting can lead to money loss;
d) Chances are you're about to lose;
e) Betting is not an investment;
f) Betting can cause addiction;
g) Sports betting: practice safe gambling;
h) Betting is for adults;
i) Betting doesn't make anyone rich; and
j) Know when to bet and when to stop.
The e-book can be downloaded here.
Source: GMB
