Brazilian operators use stadium boards to protest betting ban
Licensed betting firms and trade bodies ANJL and IBJR used advertising space at top-flight football matches to challenge a federal measure banning online wagering.
Companies holding Brazilian betting licences turned stadium perimeter boards into protest banners over the weekend, using space normally sold for sponsorship to criticise a new federal ban on online gambling, according to iGaming Business.
Two trade groups organised the action: the National Association of Games and Lotteries, known as ANJL, and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, known as IBJR. Member operators donated advertising slots at the matches rather than running their usual branding.
The boards carried two slogans translated as "To prohibit is not to protect" and "The ban doesn't end gambling", displayed during São Paulo's fixture against Santos on Friday and the match between Atlético-MG and Bragantino on Saturday, iGaming Business reported.
All four clubs have commercial ties to the betting sector that are now disrupted by Provisional Measure 1,394, which prohibited online betting in Brazil. The measure affects existing sponsorship deals, the planning of future seasons and the ability of clubs and operators to forecast investment, according to the report.
ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge said a regulated market with stable rules and legal certainty was essential to let clubs, operators and other parties in the sporting supply chain commit to long-term spending.
IBJR president Carlos Lima said the debate also concerned the predictability of a sector built on authorisations issued by the state itself. He said any changes to the framework needed to account for their impact across that chain and preserve the legal security operators, clubs and partners rely on to plan investment and meet their obligations.
A joint manifesto signed by the two associations and licensed operators argues the ban does not stop Brazilians betting, only removes the safeguards built into the regulated market. The Ministry of Finance has recorded 31 million people active on licensed platforms, the large majority of them betting recreationally, iGaming Business noted.
The document points to a rapid expansion of unlicensed betting sites since the measure took effect on 25 September. Legitbet, the monitoring platform run by ANJL, recorded 6,401 new illegal websites between 22 and 28 September, along with 811 links to such platforms across monitored channels.
Illegal operators already accounted for 41% of money wagered in Brazil before the ban, according to the figures cited in the report, and industry groups now project that share could reach 100% of the market. Consultancy LCA has estimated that as much as BRL73 billion, or roughly $14 billion, in revenue could shift to unlicensed operators between 2027 and 2030 if demand migrates wholesale.
ANJL and IBJR said they remained concerned about household debt and problem gambling, but argued a tightly regulated market was better placed to tackle those harms than a prohibition that pushes bettors toward unsupervised platforms. The groups said they were open to discussing deposit and time limits, tougher advertising rules, mental health support and stronger action against illegal sites, measures they said cannot be imposed on operators working outside the licensed system.