Brazil vs. betting: why a total advertising ban could hurt everyone

Last Updated: 3 march 2026

At the beginning of 2026, the Brazilian Senate took a sharp turn against the online betting and casino industry. The Senate Committee on Science and Technology (CCT) approved Bill PL 3,563/2024, which proposes a complete ban on advertising, sponsorship and promotional activities for fixed-odds sports betting and online gaming across the country. The bill has already been sent to the Committee on Constitution and Justice (CCJ) and could become one of the strictest advertising regimes in the world for the iGaming market.

What exactly do they want to ban?

PL 3,563/2024 amends the existing “bets law” and effectively switches off marketing as such:

• any advertising of fixed-odds betting and online gaming on TV, radio, in the press, out-of-home, online and on social media is prohibited;
• sponsorship of sporting, cultural and civic events, as well as clubs and any organisations, is banned;
• indirect advertising is explicitly prohibited: brand integrations in TV programmes, movies and online content;
• pre-installation of betting apps on smartphones, tablets and smart TVs is not allowed.

Severe penalties are envisaged for violations: from a warning and fines up to 10 million reals to temporary suspension and full revocation of a licence.

Importantly, this bill does not ban betting and online gaming as products – it is layered on top of the existing regulatory framework (Law No. 14,790/2023), which sets out licences, taxation and operator requirements. In practice, the state is telling businesses: “You can operate, but you cannot attract customers.”

ТAgain, the law does not ban betting itself; it is added on top of Law No. 14,790/2023, which regulates licensing and taxation.

Impact on operators: a market for “dinosaurs”

On paper, lawmakers claim their goal is to protect vulnerable players and fight problem gambling. In practice, the consequences for operators look much less noble.

1. Strengthening the big, suffocating the new

According to law firms and consultants, the most resilient will be major brands that have already built a user base, paid licence fees and invested in brand awareness before the ban. For them, the market becomes a retention game: CRM, reactivation, cross-sell.

For new entrants, it will be almost impossible to turn a profit: with an upfront licence fee in the tens of millions of reals and increased taxes, losing the right to normal marketing means starting in the red by default.

2. Less competition, less innovation

Restricting both brand and performance marketing removes the main tool of differentiation: communicating value proposition, product and functionality. The market risks freezing into a landscape of a few “dinosaurs” living off the inertia and LTV of an old user base, while innovative and niche projects simply cannot gain traction.

3. More regulatory conflict

Operators that have already signed long-term sponsorship and media deals will be caught between a rock and a hard place: on one side, new prohibitions; on the other, contractual obligations to clubs, leagues and media partners. This almost guarantees a spike in legal disputes and claims.

The state: between good intentions and a growing illegal iGaming market

From the government’s perspective, the idea is understandable: less advertising means fewer impulsive bets and fewer problem gamblers. But on top of an already functioning regulatory framework, the outcome may be the opposite.

1. Shrinking the legal tax base

Research shows that even under relatively soft rules in 2025, between 41% and 51% of online betting in Brazil took place with unlicensed operators. Sharp tax hikes combined with stricter advertising rules had already prompted IBJR (the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming) to warn that the grey market share could exceed 60%.

A new total advertising ban amplifies this trend: legal operators lose their main competitive tool, while illegal sites keep attracting traffic via offshore domains and uncontrolled channels.

2. Paradox: illegals win, the state loses

A study by IBJR and LCA Consultores estimated that the federal budget already loses around 10.8 billion reals a year due to the illegal market. With a strict advertising ban, the legal segment shrinks further and the shadow segment grows – meaning less tax revenue, less oversight and more risk for players.

3. Legal and regulatory instability

Operators have paid for licences and built campaigns and infrastructure based on one regulatory model, only to face a fundamentally new, prohibitionist regime a few months later. This sends a clear signal to investors: the rules of the game in Brazil can change abruptly and retroactively, undermining interest in long-term investment in the sector.

Why this initiative can be called ill-conceived

From an industry and common-sense standpoint, this initiative has several obvious flaws:

• it primarily punishes legal, compliance-focused operators while making life easier for offshore brands;
• it sharply cuts revenues for sports clubs and media, which in recent years have heavily relied on betting sponsorships;
• it turns a competitive, innovative market into a closed, inert one dominated by a few large incumbents;
• it undermines regulatory predictability, which is critical for any long-term iGaming investment.

What happens to affiliates and media?

For the gambling and betting affiliate space and sports media, the impact is no less dramatic.

• Classic affiliate performance becomes illegal

Almost everything comes under fire: SEO portals with bookmaker reviews and promo codes, Telegram channels with referral links, odds comparison tools, bonus-hunting pages, promo landings, native ads and display banners. The bill defines advertising very broadly, explicitly including indirect promotional content.

• Narrowing the corridor to “informational” content

Affiliates are forced into a role that is almost like “sports textbooks” and industry analytics, without direct links or calls to action. Any attempt to monetise via explicit betting promotion risks fines and blocks. For many arbitrage and performance teams, this means losing one of the most promising markets in Latin America.

• Financial hit for sports clubs and media

Clubs in Brazil’s Serie A alone risk losing more than USD 160 million in sponsorship revenue if betting brands are banned from shirts and stadium assets. For sports media, betting money is also a significant slice of the ad pie, and its sudden disappearance will lead to budget cuts and project closures.

What remains conditionally possible?

• more or less “dry” informational content: industry news, legal analysis, sports statistics without direct links and CTAs;
• working with global/multigeo projects where Brazil is not the core market but only part of the audience.

For most affiliates, however, Brazil is shifting from “top priority” to a complex, high-risk market.

Playbook: what should affiliates do in Brazil 2026–2027?

1. Rethink geo strategy
   Do not plan Brazil as the main growth market for 2026–2027 until the advertising situation becomes clearer.
2. Shift projects into “info mode”
   Keep alive those assets that can exist as purely informational: sports analytics, industry news, legal overviews, without promo codes and referral links for local operators.
3. Focus on multigeo and diversification
   Use Brazil as part of global projects (for example, Portugal/LatAm bundles) rather than as a single-source revenue market.
4. Track the final wording of the law
   Several models are being discussed: from a full ban to strict but not total restrictions (time slots, age gates, influencer bans). The final text may end up softer than the current draft.
5. While it is still just a bill – grab Brazilian offers at 3SNET
   As long as PL 3,563/2024 has not been enacted, the window for working with Brazilian offers remains open – but the horizon is clearly limited.

In essence, Brazil risks repeating the European trajectory, but “on steroids”: first opening the market and attracting dozens of operators, then abruptly hitting the most sensitive spot – marketing – not with calibrated restrictions but with an almost total ban. For operators and affiliates, this means revisiting their strategies; for the state, it means a high chance of ending up with a fragmented, largely underground market that is harder to tax and control.

Anna Volotskaya

Author with 20 years of experience. I cover everything about iGaming, traffic sources, regulation, and tools—clearly, in detail, and in...

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