SPA partners with the Digital Council of Brazil to block illegal betting ads

Brazil has formalized a cooperation agreement with major technology companies to remove illegal betting ads from digital platforms.

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has been working with the Digital Council of Brazil, which represents big tech companies, to remove advertising for illegal operators from social media and search engines.

The agreement establishes a “dedicated channel” through which the SPA can notify companies about irregular content. This is intended to accelerate the takedown process and limit the visibility of illegal operators, many of which use influencers to reach new audiences.

According to SPA Secretary Regis Dudena, digital advertising is currently the most effective tool for attracting new bettors, making it a central focus for enforcement.

Dudena noted that only platforms operating nationally with a .bet.br domain are authorized in Brazil. Any site without this domain is considered illegal. 

Under the cooperation, companies may also begin proactively removing such content once identified, though this remains a voluntary measure rather than a legal obligation.

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The plan also calls for technology companies to moderate content from both authorized and unauthorized operators when ads breach advertising rules.

This requires nuanced evaluation, since some cases fall into grey areas rather than being clearly illegal. 

To address this, the SPA and its partners aim to develop a framework that distinguishes obvious violations from borderline cases.

Enforcement against illegal betting sites has already led to thousands of domain blocks.

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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