The Rio Public Defender's Office (DPRJ) filed a civil suit against 43 betting platforms, demanding reforms, warnings, and R$300 million in damages over consumer harm.The...
Rio Targets Sports Betting Promoters and Influencers
Rio authorities to notify 300+ influencers, media, and betting firms over compliance failures tied to consumer protection in online gambling promotions.
Rio de Janeiro’s State Department of Consumer Protection, in collaboration with Procon-RJ, is expected to send these notifications to a range of businesses and individuals, particularly social media influencers, betting operators, radio and TV stations, advertising agencies, and tech companies.
Recipients have a 10-day period to provide evidence of their regulatory compliance aimed at safeguarding players. That means providing transparent information about services, enforcing measures for the protection of minors and vulnerable individuals, setting controls to prevent excessive debt, ensuring responsible advertising practices, and maintaining effective customer service channels. Those who fail to comply with the regulations will lead to the initiation of administrative proceedings and the imposition of fines.
This action by Rio de Janeiro authorities follows the recent conclusion of the CPI das Bets in the Senate. The parliamentary inquiry’s final report, which contained proposals for regulating the betting industry, was rejected by senators on June 13.
Blogger Virginia Fonseca is among the names that will receive a notification. She recently testified before the Senate’s Bets CPI, the national parliamentary inquiry into the online betting market.
Senators Angelo Coronel, Eduardo Gomes, Efraim Filho, and Professor Dorinha Seabra voted against the report, while Senators Soraya Thronicke, Eduardo Girão, and Alessandro Vieira voted in favor.
Despite the rejection of the report, rapporteur Senator Soraya Thronicke showed her intent to forward all collected material to relevant authorities:
“This does not prevent me from taking the report to all the authorities. I will hand over the report and all the documentation to the competent authorities so that they can continue the investigation, indict, and then present it to the Judiciary.”
Senator Thronicke also expressed plans to engage with several key officials, including Andrei Rodrigues, General Director of the Federal Police, Paulo Gonet, Attorney General of the Republic, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, Régis Dudena, Secretary of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Treasury, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to ensure that investigations on the online betting sector continue.
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