Brazilian Congressman Proposes Jail Time for Promoting Illegal Gambling
Brazilian Congressman Kim Kataguiri has introduced a bill proposing to criminalize the promotion of illegal gambling in Brazil, with a potential prison sentence of up to eight years for those targeting children and other vulnerable individuals.
Kataguiri’s Bill 706-2025 aims to amend Brazil’s 1940 Penal Code, making the promotion of illegal gambling a criminal offense.
The penalty for those convicted would be imprisonment for between one and four years, in addition to a fine.
However, the penalty would be doubled if the person in question:
- Promotes, publishes, or disseminates the promotion of illegal gambling to children and adolescents;
- Uses advertising techniques targeting vulnerable individuals, such as those in financial difficulty;
- Is a digital influencer or public figure and uses that status to promote illegal gambling;
- Has a share in the profits or any form of commission from the unlicensed betting company.
“The regulation of gambling has been a recurring theme in Brazil, but the proliferation of illegal and unauthorized betting platforms poses serious risks to society,” Kataguiri justified.
“The creation of the crime of promoting illegal gambling, as proposed, is essential to curb the dissemination and encouragement of activities that harm consumers, promote money laundering, and exploit social vulnerabilities.”
Gambling Advertising: A Hot Topic in Brazil
Advertising has been one of the most controversial aspects of the betting market in Brazil, which entered its new era of regulation on January 1st.
Throughout late 2024, several bills were introduced seeking to limit gambling advertising.
On December 6th, the regulatory body, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), immediately enforced a series of advertising measures initially scheduled to take effect with the launch of the legal market.
Among these was a ban on advertising targeting children and adolescents, as well as campaigns using images of minors or elements “particularly attractive” to this audience.
The topic of advertising was widely debated last year amid controversies surrounding the Asian-themed slot machine Fortune Tiger, with several influencers being arrested for promoting the game and causing significant financial losses to their followers.
Illegal gambling is also a major concern for the licensed sector, with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) admitting that it faces difficulties in blocking black market sites identified by the SPA.
Regis Dudena, head of the SPA, argues that the regulations will nullify the impact of the illegal market, stating: “We believe that, over time, operating illegally will become increasingly unviable, both due to the actions of the regulator and the adjustments of the market.”
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