Meta has been issued a warning by Brazil’s Attorney General Office (AGU) over illegal gambling advertisements on its social media platforms.
The AGU announced it had sent an extrajudicial notice to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
The advertisements did not have the required authorisation from the country’s regulator, the Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets, to operate in the federal online market.
A search of the company’s ad library identified ‘hundreds’ of results for active ads from profiles without authorisation to advertise online casinos.
The AGU requested the ads be removed within 48 hours of the notice being issued and asked Meta to refrain from promoting such gambling sites in the future.
The notice read: “This is, therefore, a clearly illegal activity (given that these profiles are not authorised by the Ministry of Finance), which may also be linked to tax evasion, money laundering, crimes against consumer relations, fraud and other illegal practices, constituting their advertising as an equally illegal activity.”
What Are Brazil’s Rules On Gambling Advertisement?
In May, the Brazil Senate approved new restrictions on gambling advertising that banned celebrity endorsements, limited sports sponsorships and imposed ad watersheds.
Under the new rules, gambling ads may only be displayed between 7:30pm and midnight for TV and digital channels. Radio slots are restricted further to between 9am and 11am, and 5pm to 7:30pm.
Static or digital betting adds are banned from sporting venues unless the operator is an official sponsor or naming partner and even then, it’s capped at one brand per team.
Gambling campaigns must feature a warning label that discourages gambling. In its notice to Meta, the AGU pointed to the recent Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruling on Article 19 of the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet.
Digital platforms are new presumed to be liable for illegal ads, unless they are able to prove they acted diligently and within a reasonable time to make the content unavailable.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
