Brazil’s ministry of sports has requested help from the ministry of justice and public security (MJSP) to shut down misleading gambling ads on YouTube.
Through the National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports (SNAEDE), the ministry of sports on 18 November sent a letter to the MJSP calling on them to clamp down on influencer gambling ads after identifying over 53 YouTube accounts promoting gambling with false promises of easy profits in Brazil.
The ministry of sports has called upon the MJSP to intensify its investigations into influencer marketing and involve the federal police to help counter continuing issues.
The channels in question were attracting audiences of over 100,000 viewers a broadcast, capturing the attention of SNAEDE, which was created in July through the signing of Decree 12,110 by President Lula.
In its investigation SNAEDE found that some operators using influencers to promote games are taking bets but fail to pay out on winnings. The sites are then deactivated and the operators disappear with the money.
Previous cases of nefarious influencer marketing in Brazil
The case is somewhat similar to that of Fortune Tiger, an Asian-themed slot which has been heavily scrutinised in Brazil particularly for its links to influencer advertising, although there’s no evidence that the game’s creator PG Soft is at fault for how it is being marketed.
Investigations in the Brazilian states of Paraná and Maranhão led to a number of influencers being arrested for promoting attractive financial rewards from Fortune Tiger to their followers, many of whom lost large sums of money due to fraudulent operator sites.
The Brazilian government has since taken steps to restrict influencer advertising via its gambling marketing regulations, released on 31 July.
Normative Ordinance No 1,207 restricts operators from presenting gambling as a “socially attractive” activity through influencer or celebrity marketing.
Udo Seckelmann, head of gambling & crypto at Bichara e Motto Advogagos, said at the time those regulations would aid channelisation towards safe and legal betting.
“The problems and issues regarding Fortune Tiger were never due to the game itself, but rather how advertising by influencers was being [carried out],” Seckelman explained to iGB. “Now that we have the Responsible Gambling and Advertising Ordinance, these issues will be considerably reduced.”
Ministers call for better fraud prevention
SNAEDE has warned against the promotion of gambling ads by influencers misleading Brazilians into believing they can achieve quick and easy profits from betting. It calls for better fraud prevention in gambling marketing.
Secretary Giovanni Rocco, elected to the role in September, said: “The sites hide behind social media platforms to carry out scams.
“They deceive people through influencers, promising quick gains and money to pay bills, go to the grocery store, supplement their income. But this is not gambling; it is a crime against the popular economy.”
Sports minister André Fufuca added: “We are talking about thousands of Brazilians who, deceived by promises of easy money, end up being victims of fraud.
“Sports betting must be regulated to guarantee transparency and security for the population. Our priority is to protect Brazilians and ensure the integrity of sports.”
Further advertising restrictions in the works
Earlier this week, Brazil’s National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) called for all marketing including gambling bonuses to be banned alongside betting ads targeting minors.
Senacon issued a preliminary order in the hopes the measures will be introduced as urgently as possible.
Following a two-day hearing at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) last week, Minister Luis Fux introduced emergency measures to ban betting using social welfare.
Those rules were meant to come in from the legal market go-live date of 1 January 2025. However, they were adopted immediately on 15 November, after the STF voted to uphold Fux’s measures.