Brazil's Senate Science and Technology Committee held a hearing on 1 September on Bill 2470/2026, which would impose new restrictions on betting advertising and sponsorship. Senator Alessandro Vieira, the bill's rapporteur, said the proposal is moving forward but requires further discussion.
The Ministry of Health reported that around 25 million Brazilians used legal betting platforms in 2025. Mental Health Director Marcelo Kimati Dias said suicide risk among problem gamblers is 15 times higher than in the general population, and calls for help related to gambling rose 140% between 2018 and 2025. Francisco Cordeiro, a national consultant with the Pan American Health Organization, cited research showing the social cost of betting exceeds tax revenue—for every real collected by the state, the country spends about 4 reais addressing the consequences.
Industry representatives pushed back. Carlos Lima of Instituto Brasileiro do Jogo cited studies showing betting is one of the least significant factors in household debt. He noted the regulated sector generated 9.6 billion reais in tax revenue, over 15,500 jobs and around 35 billion reais in gross turnover.
The Finance Ministry reported that the centralized self-exclusion platform launched in December has been used by more than one million people to block access to legal platforms. Dias said the Health Ministry receives only 1% of betting revenue. The hearing follows a recent tightening of advertising rules by Brazilian self-regulatory body CONAR.
