Bets spent R$2.12bn on Brazilian TV before advertising ban, Tunad finds

Betting operators spent R$2.12bn on open and pay television between January 2025 and June 2026, according to a media intelligence survey by Tunad published on Wednesday 21 October and. From January to August 2026, operators spent R$542.4m on linear open TV alone and led the advertiser ranking in that medium in five of the eight months, the survey found.

The survey describes a concentrated market dependent on television. The 10 largest betting companies accounted for 94.2% of all sector investment in TV over the period, and the two largest alone accounted for 40%. Among the 10 leaders, 93.1% of TV spending went to open TV. Streaming services, the second-largest investing category, were about R$100m behind.

A previous Tunad report found that betting companies invested more than R$1.44bn in TV, radio and streaming in 2025, with 85% of the total on open TV. BetMGM, Betano and Betnacional together accounted for 62% of investment in TV and radio.

The market was already slowing before the ban. After the World Cup, betting investment in TV fell 34.5%, from R$234.2m to R$153.5m, in comparable 39-day windows, according to the survey.

Provisional Measure 1.394/2026, signed on 25 September, banned fixed-odds betting operations and advertising in Brazil. Broadcasters had until 5 October to remove advertising already contracted.

Shortly after the measure was signed, Betano, Novibet, Superbet and Esportes da Sorte were among the operators that announced the end of commercial agreements with broadcasters. Globo, Band and ESPN suspended scheduled insertions. The exclusive betting quota in Globo's Copa do Brasil and Brasileirão coverage and the naming rights of Band sports programmes such as Jogo Aberto and Os Donos da Bola were put at risk, according to the report.

On 2 October, the Associação Brasileira de Emissoras de Rádio e Televisão (Abert) asked Supreme Court minister Luiz Fux to suspend the measure. The association argued that the rule undoes by unilateral act an authorisation the executive itself proposed, and that its members face revenue losses and contract terminations that would not be recovered even if the measure falls. Fux is expected to decide only after the second round of the election, according to the report.

Grupo Globo also has direct exposure to the sector: it is a partner of MGM Resorts in Boa Lion, the joint venture that operates BetMGM in Brazil under a licence from the SPA/MF since February 2025, the report said.

Tunad's assessment is that no category automatically replaces the volume of the betting companies and that broadcasters are likely to resell the slots, but unlikely at the same price. According to Tunad chief executive Cesar Sponchiado, there is no timetable for that recomposition. Comparing July and August 2026 with September to November 2025, some categories were growing before the ban: digital platforms (+54%), medicines (+50%), streaming (+32%) and telecommunications (+20%). The survey notes that this movement predates the measure and does not represent direct substitution.

The report also describes the role of Sidônio Palmeira, minister-chief of the Secretaria de Comunicação Social, who is a career advertising executive, owner of the agency Leiaute Comunicação and campaign strategist for Lula in 2022. According to a Estadão report, PT leaders attribute to him convincing the president to ban all forms of betting, when the original proposal provided for vetoing only online casinos. The Finance Ministry and PT president Edinho Silva reportedly opposed this. Sidônio did not comment.

Even if the measure is struck down, betting advertising remains under threat. PL 2.470/2026, approved on 2 September in the Senate's Science and Technology Committee with an urgency request, bans betting advertisements on TV, radio, internet and streaming and prohibits sponsorships of clubs, athletes and influencers. The measure has an initial validity until 23 November, extendable by 60 days. From 9 November it will block the Congress agenda. The joint committee that is to analyse it has not yet been installed.