Rio Grande do Sul is already applying its gambling advertising law
Rio Grande do Sul has begun to apply its own gambling advertising law. State Law 16,508 came into force on Tuesday, August 25, after the vacatio legis period stipulated in its text, and imposes a set of restrictions on the promotion of fixed-odds sports betting platforms in the state.
The new rules target the content and broadcast times of advertisements. Warnings about risks must occupy at least 15 percent of the area of each piece and, on radio and in audiovisual formats, be broadcast at the same volume and speed as the main message, with mentions of addiction, financial losses, over-indebtedness, and the prohibition for minors under 18. Advertising on free-to-air and pay television, radio, streaming platforms, and video-on-demand services is confined to the slot between 9 PM and 6 AM, and advertisements showing odds, bonuses, or invitations to win during live broadcasts are prohibited, as is the use of mascots, animations, fictional characters, and artificial intelligence systems that may be attractive to children and adolescents.
Sports sponsorship is also affected. In professional categories, the presence of betting brands on uniforms and equipment is limited to an identification of the company, without messages inciting gambling, a criterion that extends to non-professional categories, while athletes under 18 years of age may not be linked to this type of agreement. Official sponsorship contracts signed before the law came into force are exempt, as are official event sponsors, naming rights holders, and official team sponsors in sports venues.
The law's entry into force occurred with a challenge pending before the Supreme Federal Court. In May, the National Association of Games and Lotteries filed direct action of unconstitutionality 7,971, arguing that regulating gambling advertising is the Union's competence and is already covered by federal law. In June, the Attorney General's Office supported this thesis of unconstitutionality, and on August 17, the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet Branco, recommended granting an injunction to suspend the norm. The case rapporteur, Minister Cármen Lúcia, has not yet ruled, so the law remains in force and its provisions apply to advertisers, media, and platforms that disseminate gambling advertising in the state.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries is the entity that groups the regulated betting and lottery sector in Brazil, and it argues that the Rio Grande do Sul norm creates a parallel regime for operators who already have federal authorization under Law 14,790/2023 and the rules of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting. Rio Grande do Sul thus joins the group of Brazilian jurisdictions that have advanced with their own restrictions on sector advertising, in parallel with the initiatives being discussed in the National Congress.
Tags: State Law 16.508, betting advertising in Rio Grande do Sul, National Association of Games and Lotteries, direct action of unconstitutionality 7.971