Representatives of the sports betting and online gaming sector claim that imposing restrictions on advertising in the sector favors illegal companies. Such prohibitions are included in the bill on the subject that is being processed in the Senate, authored by Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ).
According to Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), the restrictions only affect advertisements by regulated companies. “These companies have no limits, and they operate in a way that entities that operate legally cannot. Therefore, restrictions may come, but in the future, after a comprehensive study on the subject so as not to benefit lawbreakers,” said Plínio Lemos Jorge.
Senator Carlos Portinho also wants to ban the appearance of players, celebrities and influencers in advertisements. The only exception would be for former athletes who have been retired for many years, who often need a source of income at the end of their careers.
Senator’s opinion on sector advertising due in May
With his report expected to be delivered in mid-May, Portinho (pictured) will also include in the text the requirement that all advertising for bookmakers must have a legible license number on it. The action aims to curb the black market.
As with medicines and products that pose health risks, advertisements must contain a warning: “Gambling or betting causes addiction and financial harm to the player and his/her family.”
According to the report, there will also be a restriction on the time of broadcasting of advertising on TV. As a general rule, advertisements will generally be restricted to the period between 9 pm and 6 am.
Outside of this period, channels that broadcast a sporting event will be able to show advertising for a specific time. According to the report, up to five minutes before and from five minutes after the broadcast.
For Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire, legal consultant for ANJL and partner at Betlaw, a law firm specializing in the betting sector, limiting advertising by companies authorized to operate in the country “is a big mistake, because, in this initial phase of regulation, it encourages the growth of illegal betting and goes against the path taken by nations that present a responsible environment for online gambling, such as England and Italy,” he said.
Awareness
A lawyer specializing in sports law and partner at CCLA Advogados, Raphael Paçó Barbieri says that controlling betting advertising “is beneficial in the sense of avoiding associating betting with the chance of getting rich, or directing advertising to children and adolescents, who are more vulnerable”.
“The fact is that these rules already exist and are being monitored by CONAR (National Advertising Self-Regulation Council) and SPA (Prizes and Betting Secretariat). The justification given by the rapporteur senator, in my opinion, makes no sense. Advertising is not going to combat impulsive behavior. Impulsive and irresponsible betting is a disease that should be treated like so many other addictions.
“It is not limiting advertising that will cure this problem, but rather adequate medical treatment and public awareness campaigns and assistance for gambling addicts,” says Barbieri.