On Friday, the 16th, city councilor João Jorge (MDB) introduced a bill focused on banning advertising of gambling games, known as bets, in stadiums and sporting events in the city of São Paulo. Therefore, this project aims to reduce the popularization and incentive of betting.
The proposed punishments for those who violate the rule include fines and even suspension of activities. João Jorge’s initiative comes at a time of growing concern.
In Brasília, the Senate created the Sports Betting CPI to investigate possible match-fixing and money laundering on online betting platforms. In addition, another special group in the House, the Bets CPI, continues its investigations after the extension of its work.
Federal regulation of betting advertising
In parallel with local efforts, the Senate Sports Committee (CEsp) is preparing to discuss the regulation of sports betting advertising. The meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday, the 21st, at 10:30 am, with the aim of analyzing two bills related to this issue.
The first bill, originally proposed by Senator Styvenson Valentim (PSDB-RN), aimed to completely ban advertisements for sports lotteries. However, Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) modified the proposal, restricting the broadcast of these advertisements to the hours between 10 pm and 6 am on radio and TV, while maintaining the ban on other media, such as the internet.
The second bill was authored by Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) and aims to prevent celebrities from participating in advertising campaigns for betting houses. Rapporteur Sérgio Petecão (PSD-AC) expanded this ban to include referees and former referees among the public figures who will not be able to participate in these campaigns.
Finally, if approved by the CEsp, these projects will be forwarded to the Communication and Digital Law Commission for final evaluation. However, the gambling regulations implemented on January 1st already present specific rules for advertising campaigns, incentives for responsible gambling and mechanisms to prevent access by minors.
