The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance has defined rules for responsible gaming, requiring operators to inform bettors, at the time of registration and when they access the betting system, about the risks of addiction and loss of funds.
Sports betting and online gaming operators must inform users of their platforms about warning signs for self-monitoring regarding the risks of addiction and pathological gambling disorders.
Ordinance SPA/MF 1,231 defines:
I - responsible gaming: the set of rules, practices and activities aimed, in the context of the fixed-odds lottery modality, at ensuring:
a) healthy and socially responsible economic exploitation, promotion and advertising of this modality; and
b) prevention and mitigation of individual or collective harm resulting from the activity, including:
1. negative consequences to the mental health of the bettor due to dependence, compulsion, mania or any disorder associated with gambling or betting, such as pathological or abusive gambling;
2. negative consequences to the physical health of the bettor;
3. violations of consumer rights, especially associated with financial problems, debt and over-indebtedness; and
4. social problems.
Under the new rule, operators must guarantee operators:
- The right to create a limit on the amount to be bet and the time to be spent on the platforms on a daily, weekly, monthly or other basis;
- The option to program, in the betting system, alerts or usage blocks, according to the time elapsed in the bettor's session;
- The adoption of pause periods, during which the bettor will have access, but will not be able to bet on his/her account; and
- The request for self-exclusion, for a fixed period or permanently, in which the bettor will have his/her account closed, and will only be able to register again after the defined period has ended.
As duties for betting operators, to ensure responsible gaming, the Ordinance determines that the agent must:
I - act diligently in structuring its betting system, all advertising, publicity and marketing actions, as well as its physical or electronic channels, in order to:
a) respect the precepts of responsible gaming;
b) prevent addiction and pathological gambling disorders; and
c) ensure compliance with the prohibition of betting by children and adolescents;
II - promote awareness about the risks of addiction, pathological gambling disorders and the prohibition of gambling by children and adolescents by:
a) collaborating with educational campaigns in the sector aimed at society in general and groups at risk of addiction and pathological gambling disorders; and
b) carrying out its own educational actions and campaigns with its potential consumer audience;
III - maintain systematic communication with registered bettors, in accordance with its responsible gambling policy, warning about responsible gambling, risks of addiction and pathological gambling disorders, forms of prevention and treatment alternatives; and
IV - develop the responsible gambling policy and ensure that it accurately reflects the actual functioning of its betting system.
The Ordinance also determines that it is the operator's obligation to suspend the use of the betting system by bettors at high risk of addiction and pathological gambling disorders, in accordance with its responsible gambling policy.
They must also carry out educational actions and campaigns regarding responsible gambling, as well as implement a communication policy with gamblers on the subject, informing them about the ways to assist those who need help related to addiction and pathological gambling disorders.
It will be the duty of the betting operator agent to prevent registration or use of its betting system by:
I - minors under eighteen years of age;
II - owner, administrator, director, person with significant influence, manager or employee of the operator agent;
III - public agent with duties directly related to the regulation, control and supervision of the activity within the scope of the federative entity in whose staff they exercise their powers;
IV - person who has or may have access to computerized fixed-odds betting lottery systems;
V - person who has or may have any influence on the outcome of a real sports-themed event that is the subject of a fixed-odds betting lottery, including:
a) person who holds the position of sports director, sports coach, trainer and member of a technical committee;
b) referee of a sports modality, assistant referee of a sports modality, or equivalent, sports entrepreneur, agent or attorney for athletes and coaches, coach or member of a technical committee;
c) member of the administrative or supervisory body of an entity that manages a competition or sports event; and
d) athlete participating in competitions organized by entities that are part of the National Sports System.
VI - person diagnosed with gambling addiction by a report from a qualified mental health professional; and
VII - people who are prevented from betting by a specific administrative or judicial decision, when formally notified.
Advertising, marketing and sponsorship rules
Ordinance SPA/MF 1,231 establishes the rules for communication, advertising, marketing and sponsorship actions. All actions must be guided by social responsibility and the promotion of awareness of responsible gambling, aiming at collective safety and the fight against illegal gambling.
Betting operators, in any communication, advertising, marketing and propaganda actions, including those broadcast on other application providers, contracted from affiliates or included on their own websites and applications, must:
I - refrain from broadcasting any type of advertising for unauthorized betting modalities;
II - comply with the precepts of responsible gambling;
III - adopt clear and socially responsible language, always respecting the protection of minors under eighteen years of age and other vulnerable groups;
IV - ensure that the message of communication, advertising, publicity and marketing actions sent electronically, without the recipient's request, is clearly and unambiguously identifiable, allowing and respecting requests for removal from the recipient list made by people who do not wish to receive this type of communication.
The Ordinance prohibits actions that:
I - suggest easy winnings or associate the idea of ??success or extraordinary skills with betting;
II - present betting as socially attractive or contain statements by well-known personalities or celebrities suggesting that gambling contributes to personal or social success or to improving financial conditions;
III - encourage excessive betting practices;
IV - contain calls to action, suggesting immediate action on the part of the gambler;
V - present betting as a priority in life;
VI - establish a link between betting and personal and financial success;
VII - link betting to illegal or discriminatory attitudes or behaviors;
VIII - contain false or misleading information;
IX - are broadcast in places:
a) for medical and psychological care;
b) intended for all levels of education; and
c) others intended for people under eighteen years of age;
X - convey misleading statements about the chances of winning;
XI - use messages of a sexual nature or objectify physical attributes;
XII - promote the use of the product as a means of recovering amounts lost in previous bets or other financial losses;
XIII - contribute, in any way, to offending cultural beliefs or traditions of the country, including those contrary to betting;
XIV - suggest or induce the belief that: a) betting is an act or sign of virtue, courage, maturity or associated with personal or professional success or achievement; b) abstaining from betting is an act or sign of weakness or associated with any negative quality; c) betting may constitute a solution to social, professional or personal problems; d) betting may constitute an alternative to employment, a solution to financial problems, a source of additional income or a form of financial investment; and e) skill, dexterity or experience may influence the result of a bet on a sporting event or online game;
XV - include the participation of a person who is or appears to be under the age of eighteen;
XVI - are aimed at children or adolescents or have this audience as their target audience;
XVII - are broadcast in the media or in programs where people under eighteen years of age constitute the main audience or on a website with an audience profile of people under eighteen years of age;
XVIII - use images of children and adolescents or elements particularly appealing to people under eighteen years of age; and
XIX - associate bets with cultural activities for children and adolescents.
According to the Ordinance, all communication, advertising, and marketing actions by betting agents, including any type of piece, material, or insertion, including in a digital environment, must display the following warning clauses:
I - age restriction, with the symbol "18+" or a warning "prohibited for minors under 18"; and
II - about the associated risks of addiction and pathological gambling disorders.
For advertising actions, the advertising piece must include the number of the ordinance of the Prizes and Bets Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance that authorized the commercial exploitation of the fixed-odds betting lottery by the betting agent.
The Ordinance requires that the operator be part of or associated with a responsible advertising monitoring body.
Only operators with authorization granted by the SPA may promote their brands through advertising or sponsorship of a national sports team, in events with national publicity.
The Ordinance defines that “betting agents authorized by the States and the Federal District may advertise or sponsor a national sports team, provided that the advertising or sponsorship, in physical, electronic or virtual media, is restricted to people physically located within their jurisdictions or to those domiciled in their territories.”
The Ordinance established, as has been reported for some time, that the electronic channels used by the betting agent to offer fixed-odds bets in a virtual environment must exclusively use the "bet.br" domain registration.
The SPA defined in the Ordinance that promotions, rewards or loyalty programs for bettors will be permitted, provided that they meet certain requirements, such as:
The betting agent may establish rules for the use of the rewards referred to in the caput, provided that they are clearly established in the Terms and Conditions of the betting system, and it is prohibited to:
I - condition the delivery of bonuses, rewards or goods to financial contributions made by bettors; and
II - grant, in any form, advance, bonus or prior advantage, even if for the mere purpose of promotion, publicity or advertising, for placing a bet.
The rules may include the conditions for withdrawing bonus amounts, as long as they are not linked to new deposits.
Source: GMB
