Rio’s Public Defender sues betting companies over ‘misleading ads’

The Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro has filed a civil lawsuit against 43 online betting companies, accusing them of misleading advertising, and failing to warn users about the risks of gambling addiction and financial distress. 

The BR300m claim seeks urgent court orders requiring clear consumer alerts and improved player protection tools.

According to the filing, generic warnings like “play responsibly” are deemed insufficient and unfairly shift responsibility to users. 

Instead, the lawsuit calls for full-screen or pop-up warnings lasting at least ten seconds, displaying messages such as “betting is not an investment” or “betting may cause addiction,” in line with national advertising standards.

In addition to stronger messaging, the lawsuit demands mandatory features on betting platforms, including automated alerts for repeated high-value bets, especially at night, temporary account blocks in cases of dangerous behaviour, easy access to self-exclusion tools; and a dashboard showing time spent, losses and available funds.

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The requested damages would be allocated to a national public health fund to prevent and treat gambling addiction. 

The BR300m figure was based on Central Bank estimates that Brazilians wagered around BR30bn monthly in 2024.

Companies listed in the suit include major stakeholders such as Bet365, Betano, Betfair, Superbet, Stake, Pixbet, Estrela Bet and F12 Bet. 

Carlos Mendez

Writer

Odds tell a story long before the result does. When bettors learn to read that story properly, betting becomes a matter of discipline and value rather than emotion or guesswork.

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