Brazil sets responsible gambling and advertising rules for betting
SPA Ordinance 1,231 of 31 July 2024 sets rules on betting advertising, mandatory warnings, minors, self-excluded players and affiliate liability.
By Oliwer Brewitz, Head of Marketing
Key changes
- 18+ symbol and addiction risk warning required on all advertising
- Warnings must cover at least 10% of the advertisement and be spoken where possible
- No advertising aimed at minors or placed where under-18s are the main audience
- No marketing to self-excluded players
- Operators jointly liable for affiliates; written contracts in Portuguese required
What changed
Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1,231 of 31 July 2024 sets rules on responsible gambling, communication, advertising and marketing, and on the rights and duties of bettors and operators. Every advertising, communication or marketing action must show an age restriction (an 18+ symbol or equivalent notice) and a warning about the risks of addiction and pathological gambling. The warnings must be legible and occupy at least 10% of the advertisement, depending on the medium, and should also be spoken where possible. They must also appear on printed tickets and on the opening page of sites and apps.
What it means for advertising
Advertising may not target children or adolescents or use their images, and may not run in schools, places frequented by under-18s or programmes whose main audience is under 18. Sending advertising to self-excluded players, or players excluded by court order, is prohibited. Operators are jointly liable for their affiliates' advertising and must have written contracts in Portuguese with them. For display, video/CTV and DOOH, this means a minimum warning area, audience checks for placements and programmes, and suppression of excluded players in direct and programmatic targeting.
What operators should do
Operators should build the 18+ symbol and risk warning into every template, sized to at least 10% of the ad, with audio versions for video. Media plans should exclude placements and programmes with a mainly under-18 audience. CRM and programmatic audiences should be cleansed of self-excluded players. Affiliate agreements should be written in Portuguese and include compliance and audit clauses, because the operator shares liability for affiliate content.
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