In Brazil, an investigation into online gambling and sports betting has shown that Brazilian digital influencers are far from being responsible for the social and economic consequences of the online gambling apps they publicize on their social media accounts.
Virgínia Fonseca and Rico Melquiades, two Brazilian influencers with 53 million and 4 million Instagram followers respectively, stressed that they promote game apps because Congress approved the regulation of online gambling and sports betting, regardless of the addiction and indebtedness of the Brazilian population related to this kind of app. If it were the other way around, they wouldn’t do it.
“If I’m advertising [these gambling apps] today, it’s because Congress approved it. I’m doing my job. I don’t force anyone to play. I make it very clear that if you have a problem with addiction, you shouldn’t join,” said Melquiades as a witness to the inquiry.
“I make it clear, in all my posts, what has to be done. I don’t do anything outside the law. I don’t do anything that isn’t allowed. (…) When I post, I always make it very clear that it’s a game, that you can win or lose; that children under 18 are forbidden on the platform; if you have any kind of addiction, it’s recommended that you don’t try it; and that it’s about playing responsibly,” said Virgínia, also as a witness, the day before Melquiades statement to the Senate.
She went so far as to say that she has no way of helping her followers who become addicted to gambling apps: “I have no power to do anything.” According to a report by the Brazilian monthly magazine Piauí, the influencer signed a BRL 29 million (over US$ 5.1 million) contract to advertise an online betting company in her Instagram stories.
In fact, influencers advertise these apps according to the rules the federal government determined in August last year, which are available on the website of the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conar, in Portuguese). The set of rules specifies that:
- All advertisements must contain an “18+” symbol or a warning informing “not for persons under 18”;
- People who appear prominently in advertisements must be and look over 21 years of age;
- Advertisers’ profiles and websites must adopt the age restriction mechanisms available;
- Advertisements must not be inserted in a channel, program or content that is segmented, created, directed and aimed at people under 18;
- On social media, they must only use channels, profiles or influencers whose target audience is adults;
- Warning clauses: responsible gaming messages;
- Advertisements must indicate the advertiser responsible for the advertising message, the authorization/license (as soon as issued and following regulations), and access to contact details and a customer service channel.
- Advertisers’ social media profiles and web pages must be officially verified, for example, using a service ownership verification icon.
However, according to Christian Printes, legal manager of the Institute for Consumers’ Protection (Idec, in Portuguese), the current regulation of online gambling advertising in the country is “clearly insufficient.”
“We have seen an accelerated growth of this market without proper regulation of advertising content, which has led to the naturalization of gambling and the enticement of consumers dealing with a vulnerable situation, aggravating the reality of thousands of over-indebted people,” says the expert.
Christian Printes goes a step further and says that, for Idec, this type of gambling should not be allowed in Brazil, since it “affronts the life, health and safety” of consumers. “This type of practice is highly harmful to consumers and causes social and public health impacts,” he adds.
That’s why he considers “worrying” about the influencers’ stance of shirking social and economic responsibility for the effects of online gambling, “especially considering that many of them have millions of followers – many of them young people – and promote online gambling as an easy and fun way to make money. This downplaying of risk ignores the real effects we are seeing: debt, loss of income and impacts on mental health.”
Influencer Rico Melquiades himself said during the investigation that he plays every day and that online betting helps him “relieve” his anxiety. “I also play for fun. I do it every day (…) I’m really anxious, so gambling relieves my anxiety, as does smoking,” he said.
A study carried out by the Federal University of São Paulo found that at least 10.9 million people gamble in an unhealthy way in Brazil. The study, released at the beginning of April this year, is part of the National Alcohol and Drug Survey (Lenad) carried out for the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
In the total, 1.4 million gamblers have developed gambling disorders, with personal, social or financial losses. The figure is similar to that found in a survey carried out by the University of São Paulo, which showed that two million people are addicted to gambling in Brazil. A study by Itaú Bank, meanwhile, indicated that Brazilians lost approximately BRL 24 billion (over US$ 4.2 billion) on online gambling and betting in just one year.
In this scenario, Printes argues that “influencers and digital platforms cannot be treated only as media outlets, but as agents who actively participate in the consumption chain and should be held jointly and severally liable with online betting companies for the damage caused to consumers, considering that they receive money directly from the platforms to advertise them to the audience.”
“It’s not enough just to inform people of the risks, stop advertising to people under 18 or not use language that encourages impulsive or compulsive behavior. While many influencers receive a sum of virtual money from betting apps to play and encourage online gambling, the population is losing money they would use to pay for electricity, water or food bills. What should be part of these people’s existence – the minimum they need – is actually being enjoyed by third parties who are not concerned about Brazilian consumers’ health and safety,” he says.
Psychological disorders
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gambling addiction has a name: ludopathy, which causes an uncontrollable desire to gamble due to the emotion the practice generates in the brain.
The president of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association, Antônio Geraldo da Silva, explains that the disease affects the brain in the same way as alcohol and similar substances. “Symptoms such as restlessness or irritability, trying to escape reality and stress through gambling, anxiety, depression, anguish, lying about betting, social isolation and even suicide attempts are all part of the negative consequences,” he says.
“In addition, the disease has a direct impact on financial life, with people spending more than they can afford, accumulating debts and struggling to pay the bills, family and social problems, as they can hide their addiction-generated debts from friends and family, inattention and difficulties at work, among others,” explains the psychiatrist.
Silva believes that, currently, Brazil does not have a robust outpatient system to deal with this type of patient. In his words, the Psychosocial Care Centers, popularly known as Caps, which offer health services open to the community, are “just” one of the facilities available and cannot be considered the main one.
“We need prevention campaigns, preventing people from getting into addiction is fundamental. We need to stop them first. People need to know that nobody wins from these apps. There’s no possibility of getting rich through these platforms. They always win,” concluded the ABP president.
