guide

What an Authorised Brazilian Betting Site Must Offer You — and May Not Advertise: Portaria SPA/MF 1.231/2024, Read in the Official Gazette

Deposit, loss and time limits; pauses; self-exclusion; the 24-hour rule for raising a limit; what advertising may not say; the mandatory 18+ and addiction warning; deposit-conditioned bonuses prohibited; joint liability for affiliates. All quoted from Portaria SPA/MF nº 1.231/2024 as published in the Diário Oficial da União on 1 August 2024.

Published: 2026-09-21 · 7min read

Law 14.790/2023 said betting advertising would follow “regulation by the Ministry of Finance” (art. 16). The regulation is Portaria SPA/MF nº 1.231 of 31 July 2024, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 1 August 2024 and in force since (art. 60). It has 60 articles, and most of what it says is about rights the bettor has that almost nobody knows about.

We read the text as published in the DOU — the printed copy of the Imprensa Nacional page, dated 1 August 2024 — on 21 September 2026, and quote it below with article numbers, in Portuguese with an English gloss. Where we summarise, we say so.

The limits every authorised operator must offer you

Art. 4 opens with what the operator “shall” do “for the purposes of implementing responsible gambling”. Items IV and V are the practical part:

IV - possibilitar aos apostadores a: a) adoção de limite prudencial de aposta por tempo transcorrido, perda financeira, valor total depositado ou quantidade de apostas, com a possibilidade de vincular tais limites a períodos diário, semanal, mensal ou outros períodos; b) opção pela programação […] de alertas ou de bloqueios de uso, conforme o tempo transcorrido na sessão do apostador; c) adoção de períodos de pausa, nos quais o apostador terá acesso, mas não poderá apostar em sua conta; e d) solicitação de autoexclusão, por prazo determinado ou de forma definitiva, em que o apostador terá sua conta encerrada […]

Four distinct tools: limits (by time, loss, deposit or count), session alerts and blocks, pause (you can log in but not bet) and self-exclusion (the account is closed). An operator on a .bet.br domain that offers none of these is in breach — and that is a reason to check whether it is really on the SPA register.

The 24-hour rule

The asymmetry is deliberate, in §2:

§ 2º Os pedidos feitos pelo apostador de aumento nos limites prudenciais ou suspensão dos períodos de pausa somente poderão ser implementados pelo agente operador de apostas após vinte e quatro horas a partir de sua solicitação […]

That is: lowering a limit takes effect at once; raising it, only after 24 hours. Lifting a pause also waits 24 hours. It is the same logic European regulators use — the decision to protect yourself is immediate; the decision to expose yourself has to survive a night’s sleep. For self-exclusion, §3 lets the operator demand more than 24 hours before accepting a new registration from someone trying to return.

The operator must act without being asked

This is what separates the ordinance from a settings menu:

VI - acompanhar o comportamento de apostadores quanto ao risco de dependência e de transtornos do jogo patológico; VII - sugerir, independentemente de solicitação, a adoção de limites prudenciais associados a alertas ou bloqueios, a realização de autoteste ou a adoção de mecanismo de autoexclusão a todos apostadores […], de acordo com a classificação de perfil constante em sua política

Item IX further requires a dedicated “responsible gambling” section on the platform, with guidance on risks, warning signs and support channels. And item II obliges the operator to “inform the theoretical return to player of each online game” — the RTP of every game must be available. For what that number means in money, our house edge table converts RTP into cost per 100 wagered.

After self-exclusion, silence

Art. 11, VII, in the list of what the operator must do in its communications:

VII - abster-se de encaminhar material publicitário a apostadores que tenham solicitado sua autoexclusão e aos excluídos por decisão judicial.

If you have self-excluded and still receive promotional e-mail, SMS or push notifications, the operator is in breach. Keep the message.

What a betting ad may not say

Art. 12 is a list of nineteen prohibitions. The ones that matter most in practice:

Art. 12. São vedadas as ações de comunicação, de publicidade e propaganda e de marketing […] que: I - sugiram a obtenção de ganho fácil […]; II - apresentem a aposta como socialmente atraente ou contenham afirmações de personalidades conhecidas ou de celebridades que sugiram que o jogo contribui para o êxito pessoal ou social ou para melhoria das condições financeiras; III - encorajem práticas excessivas de aposta; IV - contenham chamadas para ação, sugerindo ato imediato […]; X - veiculem afirmações enganosas sobre as probabilidades de ganhar; […] XII - promovam o uso do produto como meio de recuperar valores perdidos […]

And item XIV, the heart of the rule:

XIV - sugiram ou induzam à crença de que: […] d) a aposta pode constituir alternativa ao emprego, solução para problemas financeiros, fonte de renda adicional ou forma de investimento financeiro; e e) a habilidade, a destreza ou a experiência podem influenciar o resultado de uma aposta […]

Items XV to XIX prohibit any participation of under-18s, any targeting of children and adolescents, and placement in programmes or sites whose main audience is under age.

Read item XIV, d again, then open Instagram. “Extra income from betting”, “method”, “Aviator signal”, “recovered everything” — each of those phrases is an express prohibition. It is not a grey area; it is written down. Our crash-game study — and its Portuguese companion, the Aviator guide — explain why “signals” are a scam by the arithmetic; the ordinance explains why they are an infraction by the law.

The mandatory warning: 18+ and addiction, at least 10% of the ad

Art. 13. Toda ação de comunicação, de publicidade e propaganda e de marketing […] deve exibir as seguintes cláusulas de advertência: I - de restrição etária, com símbolo “18+” ou aviso “proibido para menores de 18 anos”; e II - sobre os riscos associados de dependência e de transtornos do jogo patológico. §1º As cláusulas de advertência devem ser claras, legíveis e proporcionais […] e ter um mínimo de 10% (dez por cento) do comprimento ou tamanho do anúncio […]

An ad without “18+” and an addiction warning, or with them in fine print, is outside the rule. And art. 15 requires all advertising “in any type of online or offline media, paid or free” to be “identifiable as such” — the disguised ad is prohibited.

Affiliates, influencers and unauthorised operators

Three articles close the circuit this site follows:

Art. 20. São vedadas ações de comunicação, de publicidade e propaganda, de marketing e de patrocínio, incluindo-se a disponibilização de aplicações ou sítios eletrônicos, de pessoas físicas ou jurídicas, que explorem a modalidade [sem autorização].

Art. 21. Os agentes operadores de apostas são responsáveis solidários pelas ações de comunicação, de publicidade e propaganda e de marketing realizadas pelos afiliados.

Art. 22. As ações […] realizadas por afiliados são consideradas integrantes das ações do agente operador de apostas, cabendo a estes obrigatoriamente: I - garantir observância, por parte de seus afiliados, da legislação […]; e II - firmar contratos por escrito, com seus afiliados, em língua portuguesa […]

In plain terms: an affiliate’s content is the operator’s content, the operator answers for it, and no unauthorised operator may be advertised by anyone. That is why, for a reader in Brazil, this site shows only operators on the register — and why our own legality by country page treats the Brazilian rule as a rule about who advertises, not who plays. There is no affiliate licence in Brazil; there is a closed list of operators who may be linked, and liability that sits with them.

Bonuses: what is allowed and what is not

Art. 42. O agente operador de apostas poderá ofertar promoções, recompensas ou programas de fidelidade aos apostadores. § 1º […] sendo vedado: I - condicionar a entrega de bônus, recompensas ou bens a aportes financeiros realizados pelos apostadores; e II - conceder, sob qualquer forma, adiantamento, antecipação, bonificação ou vantagem prévia, ainda que a mero título de promoção, de divulgação ou de propaganda, para a realização de aposta.

The “100% first-deposit bonus” that dominates casino marketing everywhere else is, in Brazil, an express prohibition: delivering a bonus conditioned on a deposit is banned, and so is any “prior advantage” to bet. Loyalty programmes and rewards remain allowed — as long as not in those forms. If a Brazilian “bet” advertises a deposit bonus, either it is not on the register or it is breaching art. 42. For what a bonus is actually worth where one exists, the bonus value calculator does the arithmetic.

How we use this

Every quotation above is from the Diário Oficial text of 1 August 2024, read on 21 September 2026. The ordinance has been amended by later acts on points we do not cite here; where a cited article is amended, we will update the page with the date. If you find an error, tell us — we correct, dated.

18+ only. Gambling involves real financial risk. The tools described above exist to be used before a problem appears; if it already has, our responsible gambling page lists support services.

FAQ

Can I ask a Brazilian betting site to cap what I deposit or lose?
Yes, and the operator is obliged to offer it. Art. 4, IV, a of Portaria 1.231/2024 requires the option of 'a prudential betting limit by elapsed time, financial loss, total amount deposited or number of bets', linkable to daily, weekly, monthly or other periods. Requests to raise a limit may only be implemented after 24 hours (§2); reductions carry no such delay.
How does self-exclusion work at Brazilian operators?
There is self-exclusion at the operator itself, 'for a fixed period or permanently', with the account closed and re-registration only after the period ends (art. 4, IV, d), and the operator may require more than 24 hours before accepting a new registration (§3). After you request self-exclusion you may no longer be sent advertising material (art. 11, VII). The ordinance also provides for centralised self-exclusion via a platform maintained by the SPA, applying to every authorised operator at once.
Is a welcome bonus that requires a deposit allowed in Brazil?
No. Art. 42, §1, I prohibits 'conditioning the delivery of bonuses, rewards or goods on financial contributions made by bettors', and item II prohibits 'granting, in any form, an advance, anticipation, bonus or prior advantage, even merely by way of promotion, publicity or advertising, for the placing of a bet'. Promotions, rewards and loyalty programmes are allowed (caput), but not in those forms.
What may a betting ad not say?
Art. 12 lists nineteen prohibitions. Among them: suggesting easy money (I); presenting betting as socially attractive or using celebrities to suggest it improves finances (II); calls to immediate action (IV); linking betting to personal and financial success (VI); misleading claims about the chances of winning (X); promoting betting as a way to recover losses (XII); suggesting betting is an alternative to employment, a solution to financial problems, a source of income or an investment, or that skill influences the outcome (XIV); and anything aimed at under-18s (XV to XIX).
Can an influencer promote a betting site?
Only an authorised one, and under the operator's responsibility. Art. 20 prohibits advertising by anyone operating without authorisation; art. 21 makes the operator 'jointly liable for the communication, advertising and marketing actions carried out by affiliates'; and art. 22 requires a written contract in Portuguese and that the operator ensure its affiliates comply with the law. The prohibitions of art. 12 and the warnings of art. 13 apply to the affiliate's content too.

Sources