Visual artist Catarina Lins de Aragão, known as Catarina DeeJah, says she received an extrajudicial notification from Esportes da Sorte after using the company’s typographic style in a satirical campaign titled Manifesto Bet, a Feia: Defeat the house.
The name plays on ‘Bela, a Feia,’ the Brazilian adaptation of the global television series Ugly Betty, transforming “Bela” into “Bet” to frame the campaign as a parody.
The manifesto criticized what the artist described as “visual pollution” caused by heavy advertising linked to the operator, one of the official sponsors of Olinda’s Carnival.
The artwork featured T-shirts bearing the phrase “The profit is theirs, the bad luck is yours. Defeat the house.”
After receiving the notification, DeeJah modified the typography on legal advice but maintained the broader message of the project.
In a statement, Esportes da Sorte said the notification concerned unauthorized commercial use of its brand identity rather than the artistic expression itself.
The company argued that misuse of betting trademarks could expose it to regulatory risk and infringe intellectual property rights.
"I'm not profiting from this. I didn't even want to profit from it. The profit, for me, is seeing a less sick, less hypocritical society. I live in the heart of Carnival. I've been exposed to this for months,” said the artist.
“We're here all year round and we know the impact Carnival has. And Carnival is tied to this kind of sponsorship."
The case has triggered discussion over the balance between industrial property and freedom of expression.
How has the artist reacted to the legal notice?
DeeJah said her work was also inspired by Brazil’s Ministry of Health guide addressing gambling-related disorders and aimed to raise awareness about addiction risks.
"With this manifesto, I tried to involve civil society so that this would be a nationwide action, in which people could learn about the danger of gambling addiction," she said.
After receiving the extrajudicial notification, Catarina DeeJah also argued that "art should be an instrument to question and move society."
Esportes da Sorte is among the companies being investigated in Brazil’s Integration Operation over alleged capital flight, tax evasion and crimes against the national financial system
