Márcio Falcão proposes merging Brazil’s betting associations into one national body

CDA Gaming CEO Márcio Falcão used the SBC Summit in Lisbon on Tuesday (29) to argue that Brazil’s betting market should be represented by a single national association, not a cluster of groups speaking for the same industry in different voices. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the point is simple: when regulation gets tighter, fragmented representation tends to look like a luxury the sector cannot afford.

1. Falcão said Brazil’s current mix of associations — ANJL, Abrajogo, Amig, IBJR (represented by Arko Advice), and IBJL — shows the problem already. The panel was about the current betting landscape in Brazil, and his conclusion was that the sector needs to unite, starting at the top.
2. His proposal is a “NewCo”: a single national entity with self-regulation, responsible advertising, and its own ombudsman function. Under that model, no individual “bet” would control the association, but all would have a voice through a representative council taking part in major decisions and helping shape a common agenda.
3. Falcão said the existing associations should not be treated as wasted effort, but as a structure that no longer fits the market’s current reality. He also noted that the leadership of the new body could be drawn from the same people already representing the market today, preserving experience, legitimacy, and institutional memory.
4. The backdrop is Brazil’s MP das bets, which he said is threatening the sector. According to the Brazilian delegates at the summit, the prevailing view is that the measure will fall, though nobody knows when. That uncertainty is exactly the sort of thing that pushes operators, PSPs, and acquiring partners to want a clearer trade body in place.
5. Falcão also called for a mea-culpa over the industry’s media exposure from the pre-regulation period through to the post-regulation phase. He pointed to what he described as excess advertising across TV, OOH, and social media, mentioning that during the 2022 World Cup Globo sold two sponsorship slots to companies in the same segment, and that by 2026 CazéTV carried three betting-sector slots during its broadcasts.

His argument was not about assigning blame to specific brands. It was about acknowledging that the market overshot, then deciding what needs to change if Brazil’s betting business is going to keep operating with any political and regulatory cover left.