“Appendix X aimed to meet the legislator’s incentives for advertising self-regulation and to respond to the commitments made to the competent public authority for the regulation of betting, in the search for socially responsible advertising, cooperating with the creation of a safe and regulated betting environment, and, above all, with a view to protecting children, adolescents and vulnerable people,” highlights Conar in the statement.
One of Conar’s main concerns is the suitability of each and every advertising message so that it is not directed at children and adolescents or more vulnerable groups, who could compromise their income from sports betting and online games.
Conar recalls that Appendix X already provided rules against advertising aimed at children and now reinforces this in its statement. For the agency, it is essential that the sector itself self-regulates in order to transmit messages appropriate to the adult public. It also emphasizes the non-participation of children and young people under 21 years of age in advertising campaigns of the so-called ‘Bets’.
CONAR and the ethical rules for betting advertising
In light of recent measures by public authorities regarding gambling advertising, including precautionary actions in Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality 7721 and 7723, as well as Technical Note No. 6/2024 from the National Consumer Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, CONAR reaffirms its commitment to contributing to the establishment of a regulated and responsible advertising environment in the gambling sector, with full attention to the need to protect children, adolescents, and other vulnerable individuals.
In this regard, it is essential to reiterate the premise of self-regulation established in Article 1 of the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation, which stipulates that advertisements must comply with current laws and regulations, specifically Laws No. 17,756/18 and No. 14,790/23, as highlighted in Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1,231/24.
Additionally, the following points are noteworthy:
1 - At the end of December 2023, Conar launched Annex "X" to the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code, which can be read in full here: http://www.conar.org.br/pdf/CONAR-ANEXO-X-PUBLICIDADE-APOSTAS-dezembro-2023.pdf .
2 - Bringing together rules for betting advertising, the Annex was the result of a working group established within Conar, based on agreements signed with entities that bring together advertisers in the segment, consisting of 24 members appointed by the entities that signed the agreements and by the founders and co-founders of Conar, a composition representative of the structures of the communications sector in the country, with the contribution of Conar's management and technical staff.
3 - Annex "X" aimed to meet the legislator's incentives for advertising self-regulation and to respond to the commitments made to the competent public authority for the regulation of betting, in the search for socially responsible advertising, cooperating with the creation of a safe and regulated betting environment, and, above all, with a view to protecting children, adolescents and vulnerable people.
4 - Thanks to Conar's frequent dialogue with similar entities around the world, the rules set out in Annex "X" take advantage of experience in various markets, with the comparison of regulatory frameworks, which resulted in the verification of five basic principles:
* advertising identification;
* truthfulness and information;
* protection of children and adolescents;
* social responsibility and responsible gaming; and
* warnings about the impacts of the activity.
5 - As a starting point and fundamental premise, the principle of legality and mandatory compliance of advertising offers with current legislation and regulations were reiterated in the preamble of the text. The prerequisite of authorization by the competent public authority for the operation and advertising of bets is highlighted.
6 - Rounds of consultations were held with the public authority, at the time in the Betting Coordination area of ??the Ministry of Finance, with the entities that signed the agreements, and with the founding and co-founding entities of Conar, and the suggestions were incorporated and all comments and contributions presented were considered.
7 - The work was dedicated to developing effective and proportionate rules, calibrated according to advertising formats. In view of the constant transformations in advertising formats and strategies, Conar is dedicated to monitoring the application of the rules and evaluating their effectiveness, considering the need for improvement and updating.
8 - Regarding the protection of children and adolescents, the rules provide for the adoption of the most modern protective mechanisms:
* stipulating the use of age selection tools for brand profiles (age gating);
* prohibiting the targeting and insertion of advertising for the segment in programming or content created, programmed and directed at children and adolescents;
* prohibiting the participation of children and adolescents, considering it to be an activity prohibited for such audience, establishing that the models starring in advertising for the segment must be and appear to be over 21 years of age.
The recommendation regarding advertising on social media, which provides, in addition to age restriction mechanisms on brand profiles, the need for compliance with advertising content generated by third parties on social media, influencers and affiliates, reiterating that such advertising is also subject to the rules of the Code and the legislation and regulations in force, and the provision that betting advertising may only be advertised by influencers who have an adult target audience among their followers.
9 - Annex "X" came into force in January of this year. Since then, Conar has filed nearly 60 complaints against betting advertising, having already judged more than half of them, in many cases with summaries published on our website, www.conar.org.br.
10 - In parallel, our prevention center has already notified advertisers responsible for more than 700 advertising pieces. We use this resource when we identify basic non-conformities in advertisements, such as the lack of warning and age restriction phrases, the presence of promises of certain gains and advertising offers of advance benefits or entry bonuses.
11 - In order to handle the large volume of advertisements published on social media, in August Conar began using a technological tool configured with an internally developed methodology that allows for the semi-automated identification of potentially problematic advertisements, with human review and future actions based on the findings. This system is being used to monitor betting advertising. The technological tool used by Conar benefits from our international presence, mainly due to our participation in Icas, the International Council for Ad Self-Regulation, an entity of which Conar is a founding member.
12 - Although the exploration and regulation of the segment is new, with full effect from January 2025, there is an expectation that it will create an environment of responsible betting advertising, contributing to the efforts and measures adopted by public authorities. Experience in various sectors shows that advertisers, agencies and other players in the advertising ecosystem understand that the greatest value of their communication is the credibility gained with consumers, through compliance with legislation and regulations, as well as through the unrestricted adoption of the principles of responsible advertising expressed in the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation.
Conar's management
Source: GMB
