(Sponsored) Brazil has moved quickly to clamp down on YouTube accounts that are breaching new guidelines regarding the advertisement of gambling operations.
The competitive nature of the online gambling industry, as well as the global reach of popular YouTube accounts, has led to some illegal operations trying to exploit this marketing opportunity to reach new customers.
Content creators will often consider sponsorship deals as a way of creating additional revenue from posts, and the Brazilian government is keen to limit illegal operations.
Brazilian Gambling Regulations
Brazil’s online gambling industry is relatively new, with the regulated market launching on January 1st, 2025. Up until this point, Brazilian consumers had to rely on offshore operations or sweepstakes casinos for casino gambling.
Offshore operators work in external jurisdictions and bypass local regulations that restrict operators from setting up.
Sweepstakes casinos don’t use real money, instead, operators issue sweep coins to consumers who can play traditional casino games using the in-game currency.
Sweep coins are issued in a variety of ways, such as rewards for signing up, regular play, and sharing content across social media platforms. (Source: newsweepcasinos.com)
Brazil operates relatively strict gambling regulations, with casinos being outlawed since 1946. Despite this, the country’s horse racing and sports betting industries are very strong, with betting on soccer particularly popular.
A state lottery has been in operation since 1967 and is operated by the Caixa Econômica Federal, state-run bank.
Land-based bingo and slot games were briefly legalized in 1993 under the Zico Act, but 5 years later the Pele Act revoked permission.
The online gambling industry had a massive breakthrough when Law 14.790 was implemented at the very end of 2023.
The law sought to provide greater transparency for online operators while also improving the security and integrity of licensed operations.
The new law provides operators with clear guidelines regarding fraud prevention and anti-money laundering rules, as well as the types of payment methods that are acceptable and how operators are permitted to advertise.
October 2024 saw a crackdown on unauthorized operators, with around 2,000 sites being removed.
The country is now stepping up action against operators that fail to comply with advertising regulations, and is also attempting to remove users that promote illegal betting sites.
YouTube Gambling Promotion Regulations
YouTube recently decided to strengthen policies that prohibit the advertisement of unapproved betting sites. These sites have not been reviewed by Google or YouTube and do not meet local regulations.
This follows moves from Google to clamp down on unapproved betting sites, with many in the gambling industry feeling that Google has too much power as the world’s leading search engine.
YouTube had already prohibited advertisements that made sensational promises to consumers, and the update now includes those that promise guaranteed returns.
Other updates include blocking gambling promotions for under-18s and viewers who are not logged into YouTube when accessing the site or app.
The company will rely on automated tech to flag specific keywords, as well as human moderation to do more in-depth research.
Brazilian YouTubers will only be allowed to promote regulated Brazilian betting sites that have a bet.br domain.
As well as YouTube carrying out internal checks, the Brazilian authority SNAEDE (National Secretariat for Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sports) is also regulating the platform.
SNAEDE has already discovered more than 50 accounts and 25 YouTube channels that breach the regulations that prohibit the promotion of non-regulated Brazilian betting sites.
These profiles alone had an audience of more than 100,000, and their removal has been seen as a great early victory for regulators.
Licensed Brazilian Betting Sites
Brazil’s online gambling industry was officially launched on January 1st, and 14 betting companies have been given full authorization to operate so far.
An additional 52 operators have been given provisional licenses that will allow them to launch their sites when they make the required adjustments.
The launch of online betting in Brazil has been a long time coming, following legislative approval by congress back in 2018. Creating a regulatory framework for the online gambling industry is a difficult task, and this is what has held up the process for so long.
Operators were invited to apply for a license between May and an August 20th deadline to make sure they would be prepared for a January launch.
Licence fees cost BRL30 million ($4.8 million), with a selection of corporate entities putting forward a selection of brands that operate under their umbrella. A 12% GGR tax rate will apply for all operators, with additional taxes expected to bring the total to about 36%.
Brazilian consumers betting at online sites also face a 15% tax on winnings that exceed BRL2,824 ($485).
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