During a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies last Wednesday (28), Pietro Cardia Lorenzoni, legal director of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), demanded that the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) move forward this year with regulating the activities of digital influencers. For him, this step is essential to combat advertising by illegal websites.
Debate on advertising and responsible gaming
The meeting, organized by the Permanent Subcommittee on Sports Betting Regulation, discussed betting on individual events, advertising, and gambling addiction. During his speech, Lorenzoni emphasized the importance of public policies based on scientific data.
These actions, according to him, should combat match-fixing and harmful advertising, in addition to reinforcing responsible gaming practices.
Pietro stated: “Advertising is a way to inform consumers. Today, we have influencers who make harmful advertisements and are not subject to market or government oversight. The SPA does not regulate this activity, which is a significant problem. We need to address this issue, and there is room to include the topic in the third quarter of this year.”
He also highlighted that the illegal market generates more resources than the regulated sector in Brazil, creating a serious challenge. In the first half of the year alone, the legal sector collected approximately R$4 billion in taxes.
These funds were allocated to sports, tourism, public safety, social security, education, and healthcare. However, he questioned the lack of transparency regarding how these funds were used to combat the negative effects of gambling.
In addition to parliamentarians, the hearing was attended by the National Secretary of Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports, Giovanni Rocco Neto; the SPA’s Responsible Gaming Coordinator, Letícia Soeira; the Director of the Department of Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs of the Ministry of Health, Marcelo Kimati Dias; as well as experts and representatives of the sector.
ANJL warns about the risks of the illegal market
Last week, Lorenzoni had already participated in another public hearing on regulating and combating illegal gambling. He highlighted that the illegal market causes annual losses of between R$6 billion and R$8 billion in taxes. Furthermore, it leads to over-indebtedness, harms families, and exposes minors to prohibited gambling.
The ANJL director stated that the Ministry of Treasury should receive the inspection fee to ensure greater regulatory effectiveness. Among the proposals are the regulation of technology providers, strengthening prevention efforts against illegal websites and their payment methods, and the creation of specific rules on advertising.