Brazilian Senate Advances Major Betting Advertising and Sponsorship Restrictions

Brazil.- 3 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com Brazil’s Senate Science and Technology Committee has approved a substitute version of Bill 2,470/2026 introducing significant restrictions on betting advertising, sponsorship, promotions and gambling products.

The proposal received a favourable opinion from rapporteur Senator Alessandro Vieira and could now move more quickly to the Senate Plenary after the committee approved an urgency request.

Broad Advertising Ban

The proposal prohibits direct and indirect betting advertising across an extensive range of media.

Restrictions cover:

• Radio and television.
• Newspapers and magazines.
• Outdoor advertising.
• Streaming services.
• Podcasts.
• Social media.
• Video platforms.
• Applications.
• Websites.
• Blogs and forums.
• Search engines.
• Other digital environments.

The ban also extends to instant messaging, SMS, email, notifications and algorithmically targeted advertising.

Affiliates, Tipsters and eSports

The legislation also restricts other channels commonly used to promote betting.

Advertising would be prohibited in video games and esports, sports uniforms and equipment, public transport and content produced by affiliates, tipsters, comparison websites and other paid intermediaries.

Operators would also be responsible for commercial activities undertaken by agencies, influencers and other incentivised third parties.

Institutional Communications Remain Permitted

Licensed companies would still be allowed to maintain certain proprietary institutional channels.

These include websites, applications, internal platform areas and customer-service channels.

However, information would have to be limited to corporate identification, access requirements, self-exclusion and blocking mechanisms and mandatory warnings.

These channels could not be used to offer bonuses, promise winnings or actively encourage customers to gamble.

Bonuses and Promotions Prohibited

The bill bans several promotional tools used for acquisition, retention or reactivation.

These include:

• Bonuses.
• Promotional credits.
• Free bets.
• Cashback.
• Free spins.
• Rewards.
• Loyalty programmes.

Communications presenting gambling as risk-free, a source of income, a financial solution or a method for recovering losses would also be prohibited.

Sponsorship Ban

The proposal introduces a broad prohibition on betting-company sponsorship.

Restrictions would cover:

• Sports clubs.
• Federations.
• Leagues.
• Competitions.
• Sports broadcasts.
• Cultural events.
• Shows.
• Educational and social projects.
• Charitable organisations.
• Civil-society organisations.
• Political parties.
• Candidates.
• Election campaigns.
• Influencers.
• Athletes.
• Artists.
• Celebrities.

Naming rights, brand licensing, ambassador agreements and other promotional associations would also be included.

24-Month Transition for Existing Deals

The bill provides a 24-month period for adapting or terminating existing sponsorship agreements.

During that period, contracts could only be signed, renewed or extended where their final expiry date falls within the transition window.

The provision is intended to avoid the immediate termination of all existing commercial agreements.

Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Groups

Sponsorship involving children and teenagers, schools and youth sporting categories would be explicitly prohibited.

Betting companies would also be prevented from associating their brands with campaigns related to:

• Mental health.
• Suicide prevention.
• Financial education.
• Gambling-harm treatment.
• Social assistance.
• Prevention of over-indebtedness.
• Protection of vulnerable families.

New Player-Protection Rules

Operators would be prohibited from using data relating to self-excluded individuals, customers undergoing treatment or users who have requested marketing blocks in an effort to reactivate them.

Repeated or intrusive communications would also be banned where customers have reduced gambling frequency, recorded significant losses, activated limits or shown signs of risky behaviour.

Businesses could not exploit unemployment, debt, anxiety, depression, grief, loneliness or other vulnerable circumstances for customer acquisition or retention.

Self-Exclusion and Limits

Platforms would be required to maintain permanent mechanisms covering:

• Age verification.
• Self-exclusion.
• Voluntary time limits.
• Voluntary wagering limits.
• Information on customers’ own gambling behaviour.

Self-exclusion would have to apply across all authorised operators.

Product-Design Restrictions

The bill also prohibits design features that make it harder for users to consciously stop gambling, leave a service or activate limits and blocking tools.

Operators would need to maintain permanent warnings regarding compulsive gambling, indebtedness and financial loss.

They would also need verifiable protocols for identifying risky behaviour.

Product Risk Classification

One of the major changes is the introduction of a framework for classifying gambling products according to their potential for harm.

Factors would include:

• Instant or short-duration outcomes.
• Continuous repetition.
• Random outcome mechanisms.
• Variable rewards.
• Near-miss incentives.
• Loss-chasing features.
• Mechanics making it harder to stop.
• Incentives encouraging larger or more frequent wagers.

Excessive-Risk Products

Products offered to consumers would need prior assessment by a competent federal executive body to be established through regulation.

High-risk products would face additional harm-reduction requirements.

Products classified as presenting excessive risk could not be offered.

The proposal identifies certain games involving random outcomes, continuous cycles and variable rewards, including roulette, slots, crash games and simulated virtual sports.

Digital Platform Oversight

Application providers, digital platforms, hosting companies and media intermediaries would be required to remove irregular advertising after specific notification from the competent authority.

The approved version requires notices to clearly identify the content considered irregular and guarantees due process and the right of defence.

Journalistic, academic, parliamentary, artistic and opinion content is expressly protected.

Fines of Up to R$2 Billion

New offences would be incorporated into the existing sanctions framework under Law 14,790/2023.

That legislation provides for fines of up to R$2 billion.

The proposal therefore creates potentially significant financial consequences for violations.

New Crime for Promoting Illegal Operators

The rapporteur’s version also creates a criminal offence for promoting unauthorised betting operators.

The proposed penalty is one to five years in prison.

Sentences could be increased where promotion is carried out by influencers, athletes or other well-known public figures.

Industry Context

Bill 2,470/2026 was introduced by Senator Damares Alves alongside six other senators and seeks to amend Brazil’s federal betting legislation.

The Science and Technology Committee previously held a public hearing involving both Government and industry representatives, where sharply differing views were presented.

The debate reflects increasing political pressure over advertising, sponsorship, consumer protection and public health since Brazil launched its regulated betting market.

Next Steps or Impact

Approval by the committee does not yet make the proposal law.

The CCT has approved an urgency request allowing the measure to move towards consideration by the full Senate.

If the current text progresses, it would fundamentally reshape the commercial model available to licensed betting operators in Brazil, particularly through its near-total ban on external advertising and sponsorship.

The debate is also likely to focus on whether such restrictions could weaken channelisation towards licensed operators while illegal platforms remain outside the regulatory framework.

Editó: @fonta