Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has published Ordinance No. 1,231, which sets out the rules and guidelines gambling operators must adhere to regarding responsible gaming as well as communication, advertising, publicity and marketing actions.
Published in the Official Gazette of the Union, the document also regulates the rights and duties of bettors and operators that must be respected to operate legally in the country.
Responsible gaming is defined in the ordinance as a set of rules, practices and activities aimed at ensuring the economic exploitation, promotion and healthy and socially responsible advertising of this modality and prevention and mitigation of individual or collective harm resulting from the activity.
The ordinance states that operators must prevent and mitigate the negative impacts gambling can have on a person, including mental health due to addiction, compulsion, mania or any other associated disorder, such as pathological or abusive gambling; on the physical health; violations of consumer rights, especially those associated with financial problems, debt and over-indebtedness; and social problems.
Operators must also take steps to promote responsible gambling via the structure of their betting systems, all advertising, advertising and marketing systems, as well as physical and electronic channels to prevent gambling addiction, disorders caused by gambling addiction and to stop those under the age of 18 from accessing gambling sites.
Responsible gambling practices
In terms of responsible gambling, SPA stated that it will be a requirement for all online operators to promote awareness of the risks of addiction and pathological disorders and emphasise the prohibition of participation by children and adolescents. This must be present in educational campaigns aimed at society in general, at-risk groups and potential gamblers.
The ordinance notes that measures already adopted in other regulated markets, such as the description of responsible gaming policy, will be followed in Brazil. Gamblers must also have access to service channels and contact information for partner organisations for gambling treatment.
Upon registration, customers must be told about the risks of gambling and how their platform works, highlighting the potential financial loss risks.
Users must also be able to personally set alerts, block usage, pauses and self-exclude – temporarily or permanently. If a user self-excludes, their account will be closed and they can’t be allowed to register again until their exclusion period has expired.
The document stated: “The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance, together with public or private bodies or entities, may establish guidelines for educational and awareness campaigns regarding the risks of addiction and pathological gambling disorders, and the collaboration of betting operators is mandatory.”
Communication, advertising, publicity and marketing actions
SPA noted in the ordinance that any communication, advertising, publicity and marketing actions must be based on social responsibility and the promotion of responsible gambling awareness.
Operators must not broadcast advertising for unauthorised betting modalities, as well as comply with the precepts of responsible gambling and adopt clear and socially responsible language and protect minors under 18 and other vulnerable groups.
In addition, the word “free” and other expressions with a similar definition can only be used within marketing, communications or advertising “when there is no onerous condition for the bettor to obtain the promised free of charge”.
Advertising material can not be sent to users who have been banned or have self-excluded from gambling.
Operators must also not make any misleading statements about the probabilities of winning; use messages of a sexual nature or the objectification of physical attributes; promote the use of the product as a means of recovering amounts lost in previous bets or other financial losses; or contribute, in any way, to offend cultural beliefs or traditions of the country, including those contrary to betting.
Regarding sponsorships, operators that also act as sponsors must also identify themselves as sponsors and must not, under any circumstances, sponsor children or adolescents, encourage them to bet, sponsor events aimed mostly at minors, or sponsor youth or children’s teams.
The document said: “Betting operators with authorisation granted by the states and the Federal District may carry out advertising or sponsorship of the national sports team, provided that the advertising or sponsorship, in physical, electronic or virtual media, is restricted to people physically located within the limits of their districts or to those domiciled in their territory.”
Betting operators are also “jointly and severally liable for the communication, advertising and marketing actions carried out by affiliates” and “must comply with all legal and regulatory provisions related to advertising”, subject to the penalties provided for in the legislation and in the Consumer Protection Code if they fail to comply with the regulations.
Match-fixing
Regarding match-fixing, the SPA ordinance stipulates that the operator must “collaborate in the fight against illegal gambling, match-fixing in sporting events and other associated illicit activities”.
Regulators must be informed of any evidence of match-fixing within five business days via the Betting Management System – SIGAP, “counted from the date on which the betting operator identifies or becomes aware of the evidence of manipulation”.
Operators must also inform the regulator immediately or within 24 hours “whenever in any sporting event the amounts bet in the secondary markets exceed the values of the primary markets”.
As already provided for by Law No. 14,790 – the Betting Law – and by the ordinance to combat money laundering, operators must be part of or associated with a national or international sports integrity monitoring body.
Operators are also required to “adopt measures to prevent suspicious activities of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”.