In July 2026, the Brazilian Federal Government issued two ordinances that strengthen and expand the regulatory framework for the advertising of fixed-odds betting.
The Interministerial Ordinance MF/SECOM/MJSP No. 73/2026, which governs consumer protection across the entire advertising chain, and Ordinance SPA/MF No. 1,964/2026, which revises the mandatory warnings and sets a minimum display standard for advertisements. Advertising compliance is no longer solely the operator’s concern and now reaches every link in the distribution chain, with the prohibited conduct anchored in Articles 37 and 39 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) and Articles 16 and 17 of Law No. 14,790/2023 – directly tying non-compliance to misleading and abusive advertising.
Below, we highlight 5 key points that operators, platforms, media outlets and advertisers should observe under the new framework:
1. New Duties Across the Entire Chain, with Prior Verification of the Advertiser: The rules reach all participants in the advertising chain — such as agencies, media outlets, affiliates, influencers and platforms — each liable for its own stage. The main practical duty is prior verification: confirming that the advertiser is authorized and that its name, brand and electronic addresses appear on the official list of authorized operators maintained by the SPA/MF. For the operator, this requires revising contracts with these participants to include liability clauses, compliance representations and identification obligations.
2. New Standardized Mandatory Warnings: Every advertisement must display one of the three official warnings: “The Ministry of Finance warns: Betting may cause addiction”; “Betting makes you lose money”; or “Betting is not an investment,” presented in the form and size established in the Ordinance.
3. Expansion of the Grounds for Abusive and Misleading Advertising: In addition to the previously known prohibitions, new restrictions apply – such as the ban on calls to action and promotional mechanics that create a sense of urgency, and on forecasts, expert opinions or analyses of sporting events that, given their proximity to editorial content, may induce betting. Because such conduct is classified as abusive or misleading advertising under the CDC, non-compliance may give rise not only to administrative enforcement but also to public civil actions and claims for individual damages.
4. Enhanced Protection of Children and Adolescents: All advertising directed at this audience is deemed abusive, and digital intermediaries now bear their own duties: app stores and operating systems must block minors’ accounts from accessing betting apps, including those that offer no age-verification solution, and social media providers must prevent the display of betting advertising to this audience.
5. Autonomous Enforcement and Penalties: Infractions are investigated autonomously and independently by the Senacon/SNDC (National Consumer Secretariat / National Consumer Protection System), on the basis of the CDC, and by the SPA/MF, on the basis of Law No. 14,790/2023, and may further lead to the suspension or cancellation of the offender’s registration in the Midiacad (National Registry of Advertising Distribution Agents). Penalties range from a warning to a fine of up to 20% of revenue, suspension of activities for up to 180 days, and revocation of the operating authorization in cases of serious repeat offenses; on the consumer-protection front, a media outlet that runs advertising for an irregular operator is subject to the sanctions of the CDC, with a fine cap reported at around BRL 14 million.
Against a backdrop of coordinated oversight and liability distributed across the entire chain, the timely review of campaigns, contracts and internal approval workflows is now the operators’ main line of defense. In a highly litigious sector, maintaining a documentary trail of the required due diligence is likely to prove decisive both in administrative proceedings and in containing consumer claims, whether individual or collective.
