In an interview with Rádio Nacional’s talk show Alô Alô Brasil on April 9, Padilha claimed that Brazil should tackle online gambling advertisements just like it tackled tobacco ads before. He cited the former model of exposure among children and advertising during sports events as a parallel.
From Market Oversight to Health Policy
It moves the conversation from licensing and taxation to public health issues. Moreover, the minister’s statements should be considered against the backdrop of another event. A day earlier, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he would shut betting platforms if the decision were his alone, though any such move would depend on Congress.
Together, the two statements demonstrate that the government’s stance on the matter is gradually turning more negative towards the industry’s presence in the public eye.
Controls Are Already Taking Shape
That position also fits measures already taken by federal authorities. On the one hand, Senacon ordered the suspension of any betting advertising aimed at children and adolescents, as well as bonus-style inducements. On the other hand, gambling compulsion help is available from the public healthcare sector free of charge. This means that the problem has been placed within the sphere of health policy rather than elsewhere.
Another aspect of this framework is the establishment of the centralized self-exclusion portal introduced in December 2025. This system enables users to exclude themselves from accessing all authorized betting sites simultaneously, prevent any further account creation associated with their tax identification number, and limit betting advertisements targeted at them. Separately, the Health Ministry launched telehealth support for gambling-related compulsion.
New Child-Safety Rules Add Pressure
A wider legal environment is tightening as well. For example, Brazil’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, which entered into force on March 17, demands stricter age verification requirements. It also holds platform providers accountable for their role in the protection of minors in cyberspace. In the case of betting, this grants the authorities more legal ground to treat youth exposure to betting content as a child-protection and platform-compliance issue, not only a gambling-policy issue.
The Next Fight Will Be Over Visibility
The path forward will probably revolve around the extent to which such restrictions can be put into place. This is reflected in the SPA’s proposed 2026–2027 regulatory agenda, which includes work on affiliate advertising and shows that the advertising framework is still evolving.
The more important message here is political in nature. Once gambling becomes a discussion point framed in the same rhetoric Brazil used for tobacco, imposing stricter advertising restrictions becomes much more straightforward.
