The Superior Council of CONAR (Brazil’s National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation) announced the creation of Annex “X” of the Brazilian Code for Advertising Self-Regulation (CONAR-Conselho Nacional de Autorregulamentação Publicitária). This progress on the part of CONAR was already expected and corroborates the recent publication of Law no. 14,790/2023, which regulates fixed-odd betting in Brazil.
This new Annex “X”, which comes into force from January 31, 2024, was long awaited by the betting market, including from sponsors, sponsored parties, betting establishments and other players in the sector, as it organizes self-regulatory rules for fixed-odds betting advertising in Brazil and seeks to create a more compliant, unified and even safe environment for advertisers and consumers.
In short, the regulatory concern is especially to ensure socially responsible advertising in the segment, and that every advertisement respects the country’s laws, being honest and truthful.
By way of illustration, below are the main principles set out in the general part of the Ethical Advertising Code, which are emphasized and detailed in Annex “X”:
• Principle of advertising identification: emphasizes the importance of transparency regarding the commercial nature and the fundamental identification of the person responsible for the offer. The need to provide the identification of the authorization granted is indicated, as a way of guaranteeing the means of checking the regularity of the offer, coming from a duly licensed company.
• Principle of true presentation and information: rules regarding true presentation about the nature and possible results of the disclosed activity. These are essential so that consumers can make informed decisions and are not misled. Promises of certain earnings and results are prohibited, as well as the dissemination of misleading or unrealistic information about the probability of winnings from bets and the level of risk involved.
• Principle of protection for children and adolescents: a series of content restrictions and advertising targeting are stipulated, with the purpose of protecting minors, considering that this activity is aimed at people over 18 years of age. For example, the following are foreseen: the need to insert the “18+” symbol or the warning “prohibited for under 18s”; the need to use age selection tools for brand profiles (age gate); prohibiting the presence of children and adolescents in advertisements. It is interesting to note that the recommendation regarding advertising dissemination on social networks was also considered, indicating the need for compliance of advertising content generated by third parties in this environment and even providing that betting advertising can only be disseminated by influencers who have a majority audience of adults.
• Principles of social responsibility and responsible gambling: prohibitions on encouraging exaggeration or irresponsible conduct in betting, as well as warnings about potential financial and psychological losses.
Like any new self-regulated environment, a long road begins here for the sector, which will be subject to the case-by-case interpretation by CONAR in future. The civil dispute resolution team at Daniel Law, represented here by our partner Isis Moretti, is following the evolution of the matter and is fully available to clarify doubts and provide support to issues related to the topic.
Source: CONAR-Conselho Nacional de Autorregulamentação Publicitária