The law firm's data reveals concerns about how betting companies have been communicating with the public, especially at a time of regulation and accelerated expansion of the sector in Brazil.
The main complaints involve:
* Lack of age restriction warnings, an essential element in any advertisement involving activities potentially harmful to minors;
* Lack of Responsible Gaming clauses, which compromises consumers' right to information and ignores good self-regulation practices;
* Presence of underage influencers, which is expressly prohibited in betting campaigns;
* Misleading promises, which can mislead consumers, especially in a market still poorly understood by a large portion of the population.
Most violations do not originate from sports betting and online gaming companies authorized or in the process of obtaining a license in the country. According to Conar president Sergio Pompilio, approximately 80% of complaints involve illegal operators.
During one of the sessions of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Sports Betting in the Senate, Pompilio explained the challenge faced by both Conar and public authorities: "Much advertising content related to betting has indeed been subject to notification, modification, and suspension. But the problem is that 80% of the complaints we receive involve unauthorized betting. And the police are usually the ones controlling illegal betting," he stated.
The president of Conar was even more direct during the session: "It's impossible to control a betting company that was created in Asia, with content entirely in Portuguese, that operates through social media and reaches Brazilian teenagers and children directly. This company is almost unreachable today."
"Betting companies began operating, but until then, there was a regulatory gap. In 2024, this began to change, both from Conar's perspective and due to the advancement of legislation," explained Fernanda Magalhães, partner at Kasznar Leonardos and an intellectual property specialist. "What makes this scenario even more critical is the intersection with digital influencers. This association was crucial for the industry's expansion and significantly increased ethical and legal risks," he added.
The large number of complaints, however, does not originate from the Brazilian regulated market, and this is one of the issues highlighted by industry organizations, such as the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR).
These organizations have warned the government that combating the illegal market is urgent and necessary, and that simply banning or restricting advertising by authorized companies in Brazil will only fuel the growth of illegal operations, given the difficulties in banning illegal websites.
So far, more than 11,000 websites have been blocked by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), but this is a mopping up of ice, as new websites are opened every day, including by the same blocked operators, who open new URLs.
Source: GMB
