Brazil’s SPA-MF fines Blaze R$ 2.3 million over ads involving children and teenagers

Brazil’s Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA-MF) has fined Blaze R$ 2.3 million for running gambling ads with participation from minors. For high-risk operators and their PSPs, the practical point is simple: if the house signs off on the creative and distribution chain, the regulator will treat the house as responsible, not the influencer.

1. The penalty was issued on Monday (20/7) and relates to 33 irregular advertising videos produced with influencer João Caetano and published between March and July 2025. According to the SPA, the content either featured people under 18 or was directed at that audience.
2. Brazil’s betting law, the responsible gambling ordinance, and the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente prohibit minors from being targeted by, or taking part in, online betting promotions. That makes this less a creative-dispute story and more a compliance file with a price tag attached.
3. The SPA assigned liability to Blaze, not to João Caetano, because the company is responsible for complying with the rules and supervising the entire commercial distribution chain. The regulator also said the contract required compliance with a briefing and standards set by Blaze itself, which suggested the influencer was acting under the company’s direct coordination and control rather than independently.
4. The SPA highlighted that the 33 irregular videos stayed online for four months, which it treated as evidence of a failure in the company’s monitoring duty. Blaze said in the case that it ended the contract with the influencer as soon as it became aware of the irregularities, but the agency rejected that argument.
5. Foggo Entertainment, the company operating the Blaze brand, has 10 days to file an administrative appeal after formal notice of the decision. The company said it does not comment on ongoing judicial proceedings and stated that its activities and partnerships are guided by strict compliance with current laws and regulations in the country.

The case reached the Ministry of Finance through a complaint from Instituto Alana, an NGO focused on the rights of children and adolescents. Blaze is also facing a public civil action from the Ministério Público do Distrito Federal e Territórios (MPDFT), filed on Thursday (8/7), which alleges misleading and abusive advertising and other practices harmful to bettors.