The regulated Brazilian market emerges with the expectation of quickly establishing itself as one of the largest and most relevant in the world. However, it continues to be the target of negative (not specialized) media coverage of the sector.
For those familiar with the industry, it is easy to recognize the sensationalism surrounding compulsive gambling. Nonetheless, there are still concerns about the real efficiency and sufficiency of the current rules on the obligation of operators to promote responsible gambling and implement necessary and mandatory measures to prevent and mitigate the effects of compulsive gambling.
Since 2018, compulsive gambling has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a mental health condition characterized by impulse control disorder, resulting in an uncontrollable urge to gamble, even in the face of significant losses and risks. For the compulsive gambler, the need to participate in the betting process and experience the thrill of uncertainty in the outcome is paramount, while the outcome itself holds little or no importance.
With evidence and recognition that this is a public health issue, the legalization of gambling worldwide has led to the creation of prevention and treatment initiatives for the disorder in several countries, as well as the implementation of responsible gambling practices to minimize the harms associated with this pathology.
The promotion of responsible gambling, through the adoption of modern tools to mitigate risks related to excessive and compulsive gambling in betting environments, should be a constant pursuit of market agents, voluntarily, regardless of regulation. After all, the sustainability of the industry depends on the existence of bettors who gamble in a healthy manner.
When analyzing the broader Brazilian context, Law No. 14,790/2023 and Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1,231/2024 are undoubtedly excellent starting points, as regulatory standards for compulsive behavior and addiction are scarce.
However, to effectively combat compulsive gambling, merely requiring operators to create tools, such as time limiters and self-exclusion mechanisms – even if aligned with the spirit of responsible gambling – may be insufficient.
For example, the open and vague manner in which Brazilian regulations address the topic fails to create a minimum and common standard that all bookmakers must adopt regarding the limits gamblers can set for their bets—whether concerning amounts, frequency, or times—allowing different operators to treat the same issue in different ways. The lack of uniformity in interpreting the fundamental rules of the national legal system allows operators with varying levels of permissiveness regarding betting limits to coexist.
Apart from being a regulatory and mental health issue, the lack of clear minimum standards regarding responsible gambling promotion rules results in an antitrust law issue that deserves legislative special attention: even if unintentionally, the existing rules give a competitive advantage to less rigorous or permissive bookmakers, which will likely attract more compulsive gamblers or those prone to gambling disorders than bookmakers that abide by stricter rules.
However, it is important to emphasize that attracting compulsive gamblers to a platform should not be seen, contrary to common sense, as advantageous for bookmakers. Gamblers with gambling disorder are more prone to debt, incurring debts that allow them to spend more than their own earnings. This can raise a red flag for the internal structures combating money laundering, thus increasing regulatory costs for bookmakers and reducing their profit margins.
Moreover, the absence, in the Brazilian law, of a system that requires that the decision of self-exclusion, whether temporary or permanent, be extended to all operators—similar to the National List of Excluded Gamblers (Renapro in Portuguese) proposed in Bill No. 2,234/2022—weakens the entire protection network for gamblers. In other jurisdictions, similar systems are in place, and the lack of an equivalent measure in Brazil allows compulsive gamblers to use other platforms apart from the one they chose to exclude themselves from.
Obviously, educating gamblers on how to gamble safely is crucial for responsible gambling rules to be applied successfully. However, in the case of compulsive gamblers, the entire system must function harmoniously for the fight against compulsive gambling to be effective.
Alternatively, it is possible for bookmakers to self-regulate concerning the sharing of information about self-exclusion decisions among operators. However, it is essential to consider the limitations imposed by privacy protection rules and personal data processing.
In light of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), it would be possible to create common usage rules so that, when opting for self-exclusion, bettors consent to share this information with other bookmakers, allowing for automatic exclusion on those platforms as well. Sharing this information could be justified by legitimate interest, considering the rights holder's interest in taking time to evaluate themselves and recover, as well as the society’s interest in not fostering compulsive gambling.
However, this measure entails some risks. Firstly, the system may fail if an operator does not voluntarily adhere to self-regulation. Furthermore, consent and legitimate interest are highly contestable and often fragile legal bases. There may also be technical interoperability issues that would prevent the bookmaker receiving a request from fulfilling it.
Therefore, the existence of a rule requiring interoperability among bookmakers, as well as data sharing, could be an effective solution, as acknowledged by the Brazilian regulator, which considers creating a list of individuals prohibited from gambling during the regulatory cycle of 2025-2026. Ideally, this rule should also include requirements for data portability, information security, and data retention and elimination periods.
With all the movement surrounding bookmakers and, especially, the influence of this activity on Brazilian society, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has also stepped in and has been discussing the impacts and responsibilities arising from gambling and falling on the Brazilian population.
The Direct Action for the Declaration of Unconstitutionality (ADI) 7721 is an example of this. The ADI, which discusses the constitutionality of Law No. 14,790/2023, is expected to be judged by STF in the first half of 2025. Recently, in November 2024, a public hearing was held to discuss the impacts of online betting. This hearing aimed to support a more comprehensive court order by incorporating different perspectives from civil society to contribute to the regulatory debate.
During this opportunity, STF heard various market players, from gambling industry experts to researchers. For instance, a representative from the National Association of Retirees, Persons with Disabilities, the Elderly, Pensioners, and Social Security Insured (ANADIPS) highlighted that gambling can lead to compulsive gambling, a disease recognized by the WHO and currently lacking in-depth discussions on preventive public policies.
Representatives from class associations, such as Márcio Malta, from Aigaming, emphasized that Brazil has around 30 million bettors and that most studies on compulsive gambling refer to physical gambling.
The ADI raises other important issues, such as civil liability and consumer protection in the gambling and betting sector. The Supreme Court's concern for citizens' protection against abusive practices and the need to ensure a safe environment for gamblers is evident.
In this context, responsible gambling and the implementation of regulatory improvements—which will always occur, as in any regulated environment—are essential factors for the success of a sector that has just been formalized in the Brazilian legal framework.
