Senator Damares Alves, the rapporteur of the project, compared the profit amounts of the sector's companies with the income brought into Brazilian coffers by soy exports and stated that it is necessary, in her opinion, to move towards restricting advertisements.
Brazil.- Senator Damares Alves stated that betting already generates value close to the country's soy exports and proposes, in a bill, to prohibit the advertising and sponsorship of these companies, which have become a major source of funding for various areas of Brazilian development, such as sports, especially football, media, and health.
Damares is the new rapporteur of the matter because two different projects on betting houses were merged. In the end, her text will be submitted to a vote. Senators mobilized around the project claim that the text should be voted on next week and is being processed definitively.
After passing through the Communication and Digital Rights (CCDD) committee first and then the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship (CCJ) committee, it will go directly to the Chamber. The expectation is that it will be approved at least in the first committee.
In her rationale, Damares states that betting increased its revenue in the country from R$ 500m (USD 80m) in 2018 to around R$ 240,000m (USD 39,000m) this year reaching a figure close to what represents the total Brazilian soy exports.
«We recall that, while exports result in foreign currency income for the country, resulting from a dynamic sector of the economy with the generation of millions of jobs, part of the income from betting is sent abroad in the form of profits to tax havens, in a kind of resource flight from our economy,» compared the senator. According to her, remittances abroad from betting reach R$ 55,000m (USD 9,000m) a year.
Damares also mentioned several studies that relate betting with mental health and economic damages to justify the prohibition of advertising in this business. According to Damares, this situation, combined with the fact that half of the people who have already gambled started this activity in 2024, confirm the power of attraction of advertising for betting, with negative consequences for the population.
See also: Online betting advertising in Brazil: the SPA advanced the effectiveness of part of the ordinance to regulate the ads
In addition to the prohibition of communication, marketing, and advertising actions that promote betting, both by companies and individuals (including influencers), the project foresees the prohibition of sponsoring events of any nature, including sports, indirect advertising, subliminal propaganda, and the dissemination of content that simulates, encourages, advertises, or advocates betting.
