The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) begins, this Wednesday (9), an awareness campaign against the use of betting sites by children and teenagers.
The campaign pieces will be published on the entity’s social networks until Saturday (12), when Children’s Day is celebrated in Brazil.
Although the registration of minors is already prohibited by legalized platforms, Brazilian legislation only determines that the facial recognition feature is mandatory to access the platforms from January 1, 2025. The loophole allows children and teenagers to access the websites of bets through the adult CPF.
Ordinance No. 1,231 of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), of the Ministry of Finance, establishes that all advertising driven by bets, including in a digital environment, must display the following warning clause: age restriction, with the symbol “18+” or warning “not for children under 18 years of age”. The measure, however, is also only valid from next year.
According to ANJL, children are also exposed to unregulated betting sites that still operate in Brazil. Bets that are not authorized to operate in Brazilian territory will remain online until October 10th.
“Totally contrary”
The entity’s president, Plínio Lemos Jorge, says that the campaign aims to raise awareness among adults and reaffirm the industry’s commitment to not allowing minors access to betting.
“Until Saturday, Children’s Day, ANJL’s social networks will communicate to everyone – market, government, parents and other guardians – that bookmakers are completely against children and teenagers joining their platforms”, says Plínio.
The Ministry of Finance will begin to take down the website of unregulated companies from this Friday (11). There are 93 authorized online betting companies on the national list and 18 on the state list.
ANJL had already indicated in an open letter that it was organizing awareness and education campaigns for bettors. The demonstration was signed together with other operators in the sector.
In the document, the entity defended regulation and said it was “totally” opposed to any tools or pieces of disclosure that induce bettors into compulsive behavior.
Regulation
Bets that are not authorized to operate in Brazil will remain online until October 10th only to facilitate the request for refunds of money deposited by bettors. Even after the deadline, betting operators must continue to ensure ways for people to withdraw the deposits to which they are entitled.
New authorization requests can be made at any time. The government has up to 150 days to respond to the request.
The Prizes and Betting Secretariat will publish by the end of 2024 the definitive list of companies and websites that will be authorized to operate from January 1, 2025, when the regulated betting market will begin in Brazil. The first companies definitively approved will have to pay the grant of R$30 million to start operating.
The Minister of Social Development and Combating Hunger, Wellington Dias, argues that betting advertising should have restrictions, like tobacco and alcohol advertising.
According to the minister, current laws — such as the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) and the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) — can now be applied to make some changes.
Other changes can be made through a process in the National Congress or determination by the (STF), the minister told CNN.
