Legalized betting associations take anti-ban manifesto back into Brazil’s Brasileirão this weekend

The Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável (IBJR) and the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) are bringing their “Proibir não é proteger” manifesto back to Brazilian stadiums for the 31st round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. For PSPs and betting operators, the message is straightforward: Brazil’s regulatory fight is now playing on field boards and team shirts, not just in policy documents.

1. The campaign returns from Friday (16) across 10 matches in a new format. Alongside the manifesto slogan, the pitch-side boards will also carry messages from the “Aposto que você não sabia” campaign, including “Proteção de verdade começa com regras,” “O Brasil proibiu e o mercado ilegal invadiu,” and “Regularizar é proteger.”
2. Carlos Lima, executive president of IBJR, said the group is taking the message to stadiums because “the population needs to know what is at stake.” In his framing, prohibition did not make demand for betting disappear; it opened space for the illegal market, removed consumer protections, and weakened monitoring and anti-match-fixing mechanisms.
3. Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of ANJL, said the Brasileirão matches have “great visibility and reach,” which is why the associations are again highlighting the consequences of the abrupt and unjustified elimination of the regulated market. He pointed to “more than 30,000 illegal betting sites active in the country” as the main risk for bettors who remain outside regulated protections.
4. The weekend will also include shirt placements. On Saturday (17), São Paulo players will wear shirts with “Proibir não é proteger” during the match against Vasco da Gama at 21h in Morumbi. On Sunday (18), Flamengo’s kit will carry the protest during its match against Bahia.
5. The associations say the campaign is meant to draw attention to the effects of Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, including possible impacts on club and competition investment, bettor protection mechanisms, tax revenue directed to public policy, and the risks tied to the expansion of the clandestine market.

The manifesto signed by IBJR and ANJL argues that prohibition does not end betting activity in Brazil; it ends protection for the bettor. It also warns that the clandestine market is used by organized crime to launder money, reach minors, and run digital scams against more vulnerable users.