Brazil: Betano, Pixbet and bet365 among 43 firms sued over ad claims
The lawsuit demands BR300m ($53m) in damages and calls for new consumer protection measures.
Key points:
– Lawsuit filed against 43 betting companies over allegedly deceptive advertising
– Seeks BR300m in collective moral damages and mandatory harm warnings
– Demands platforms implement alerts, pop-ups and self-exclusion tools
The Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro has filed a civil lawsuit against 43 online betting companies.
The suit claims that slogans such as “bet responsibly” are insufficient and shift responsibility to consumers without offering clear warnings about addiction or debt.
The filing seeks BR300m in collective moral damages and calls for urgent measures, including pop-up alerts, session tracking and visible loss reports. The damages, if granted, would be directed to a national addiction prevention fund.
Among the operators listed in the lawsuit are major brands including Betano, Sportingbet, Betfair, Bet365, KTO, Superbet, F12.bet, Betnacional, Novibet, Stake, Pixbet and EstrelaBet.
According to the petition, the current marketing practices omit the health risks associated with betting, such as compulsive gambling, anxiety and financial distress.
This suit proposes mandatory full-screen warnings lasting at least 10 seconds and bans the exclusive use of generic disclaimers. These changes would be enforced with daily fines for non-compliance.
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The Defender’s Office also calls for platforms to implement behavioural monitoring features and self-exclusion mechanisms, aiming to flag risky activity especially during late-night hours or involving high-stakes wagers.
The lawsuit estimates from Brazil’s central bank suggesting that Brazilians spent roughly BR30bn per month on online betting in 2024.
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