Santa Catarina consumer watchdog meets Superbet, KTO and Blaze on betting risks, ads and self-exclusion

Procon de Santa Catarina held a virtual meeting with sports betting platforms to discuss consumer protection in the state, with the agenda centered on harm prevention, advertising, self-exclusion mechanisms and combating ludopatia (gambling addiction). For PSPs and operators, the point is not the meeting itself; it is that a state-level consumer authority is treating betting as a payment-risk and debt-risk issue, not just a licensing issue.

1. Participating companies included Superbet, KTO, Blaze, Rei do Pitaco and 1xBet. The meeting was coordinated by Procon/SC’s Directorate of Consumer Relations and Defense, with staff from the Market Operations and Analysis Coordination Unit (COAM) also present.
2. Procon/SC told the platforms to comply with federal and state laws regulating the sector. The agency also stressed the need for responsible advertising and for mechanisms that can prevent financial and psychological harm caused by betting.
3. The concern is backed by the agency’s own intake data. The NAS (Núcleo de Apoio ao Superendividado), Procon/SC’s support unit for overindebted consumers, says sports betting and related causes account for 10.9% of the payment failures it handles.
4. Procon/SC is telling consumers in Santa Catarina to check which companies are legally authorized to operate in Brazil and to understand the protection tools available to them. In practice, that means the regulator is pushing the burden of due diligence onto the user while also signaling that operators will be watched more closely.
5. Procon/SC director Michele Alves said the agency will monitor changes in the market and require respect for consumer rights. “We are attentive to changes in the market and will act to ensure that consumers’ rights are respected. Regulation of the sector needs to be accompanied by responsibility, information and effective protection mechanisms,” she said.

For high-risk operators, the takeaway is simple: even when the conversation starts with consumer protection, it quickly turns into questions about advertising compliance, self-exclusion, and whether the business is creating downstream debt problems. That is the sort of scrutiny PSPs and acquirers tend to notice.