The government orders the immediate suspension of online gaming advertisements targeting children and adolescents

In Order No. 2,344/2024, published in the Official Gazette of the Union on November 19^th, 2024, the Department of Consumer Protection and Defense (DPDC) of the National Consumer Secretariat (SENACON), linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, determined that all companies authorized to operate fixed-odds betting, listed by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, must adopt the following measures:

1. Suspension, throughout the national territory, of any reward advertising related to advance payment, anticipation, bonus, or prior advantage, even if merely for promotion, dissemination, or propaganda purposes, for the realization of bets;
2. Suspension, throughout the national territory, of any advertising of fixed-odds online betting games targeted at children and adolescents;
3. Presentation of a transparency report on the measures adopted to comply with the respective suspensions.

Order No. 2,344/2024 also refers to the reasons contained in Technical Note No. 6/2024/CMM/CGEMM/DPDC/SENACON/MJ, through which DPDC argued that the prohibition of granting, in any form, advance payment, anticipation, bonus, or prior advantage, even for the purpose of promotion, dissemination, or advertising, for the realization of bets, is provided for in Article 29, Item I, of Law No. 14,790 of 2023, so that all fixed-odds betting operations are already required to comply with this provision, regardless of the adjustment period. Additionally, DPDC has also identified news regarding child influencers who were promoting fixed-odds betting, which is also already prohibited by Law No. 14,790 of 2023, not depending on the end of the adjustment period.

These measures align with the recent decision issued by Justice Luiz Fux on November 12^th, 2024, and endorsed by the Plenary of the Supreme Federal Court on November 14^th, 2024, in the Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADI) Nos. 7721 and 7723. In this decision, Justice Fux ordered the immediate implementation of actions to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1,231/2024, regarding the prohibition of advertising and propaganda measures targeting children and adolescents.

Non-compliance with these measures may result in a daily fine of BRL 50,000, applicable from the date of non-compliance until full compliance with the measure is demonstrated.

The Gaming & Betting team at Souto Correa is closely monitoring developments and is available to provide further information on the matter.