Following a pandemic gambling surge in Portugal, the current executive vows to eliminate ‘Wild West’ ad environment
Since online gambling and betting in Portugal was legalized in 2014, advertising the adult pass-time was not subject to particularly harsh restrictions. Left-wing PCP Deputy Paula Santos exclaimed the past legislations to have been “permissive and open to incitement and stimuli”. Action on this environment was also called for in connection to the surge in iGaming during the pandemic. In Q1 2020, about 330.000 new players commenced online bettorship. Now, four bills have been proposed, seeking the same treatment for gambling in advertisement as for alcohol.
Radio and TV broadcasting would no longer feature gambling ads between 07:00 AM and 22:30 PM. Ads of all types, that includes bulletins, would be obliged to features warnings that encourage addicts to seek help and prevent new ones from emerging. On the internet, ads shall comply with tools that enable consumers to self-exclude from gambling-related content.
Certain soft goals were also formulated, as the protection of minors and the improvement of consumer protection.
Currently, Portugal is the top country of per capita expenditure on scratch cards, allegedly due to the previously lax stance of the government on public incentives.
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