The role of the betting industry in the advertising market is a topic that raises some questions. While advertising helps bettors distinguish between legitimate and illegal businesses, the volume of investment in advertising with influencers and athletes is attracting attention in some sectors.
In this scenario, the Secretary of Prizes and Bets at the Ministry of Treasury, Régis Dudena, commented on the criticism regarding the excessive advertising in the sector by influencers, TV presenters, sports channels and even athletes.
According to Dudena, a broader perspective on the issue is needed. Simply restricting things isn’t the solution. “When criticizing, we’re often looking at stadium activation, soccer jerseys, and television advertising, which obviously may need to be controlled a bit more at some point, with some restrictions,” he said.
According to him, one possibility is to restrict athletes’ participation in bookmaker advertising. “The exposure of athletes, for example, if it’s something we recognize as undesirable, we’ll eventually restrict it. If the activities of public figures need to be restricted, they will eventually be restricted. What we can’t do is try to do everything at once.”
Legal security is a concern for SPA
Dudena also emphasized that doing everything at once is a recipe for regulation that doesn’t stabilize over time. “It doesn’t provide legal certainty for those who need it, which is the people and the grassroots economy,” he emphasized.
In this initial phase of market opening, according to the secretary, it makes sense for betting houses to be exposed through advertising so that bettors can distinguish legal from illegal betting houses. In his view, the most relevant form of advertising in combating illegal betting is providing links to betting sites.
“How does a person typically arrive at an illegal gambling house? They’re browsing social media profiles or search engines and come across a link, either shared by an influencer or within a campaign pretending not to be a campaign. They click on it, are directed to a sportsbook, and then engage in this illegal gambling activity,” he stated.
The secretary said he doesn’t welcome “at this time” an absolute restriction on advertising. He explained that currently, there are restrictions on the message and content of advertising.
“You can’t, for example, say that gambling is something different from what it is. Gambling is entertainment, it’s spending money. Saying that you’ll get rich, that you’ll be more beautiful, that you’ll have social success, that you’ll have a supplementary income, is prohibited,” he said.
The secretary emphasized that Conar, the council responsible for advertising self-regulation, also has advertising rules for the betting industry. “Perhaps we’ll have to continually consider the details of this regulation, as a regulatory cycle,” he concluded. The interview was given by Regis Dudena to Folha de São Paulo’s C-Level videocast.
