Betting operators significantly cut back their investment in Brazilian television advertising following the 2026 World Cup.
Indeed, after facing criticism over aggressive advertising practices during the tournament's broadcasts, betting ad spending on TV fell 34.5% after the event, according to a study by media intelligence firm Tunad, which compared the 39-day World Cup period with an equivalent stretch afterward.
The pullback follows mounting scrutiny of betting advertising during the tournament. Brazil's National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) opened a preliminary investigation into CazéTV over betting promotions aired during its World Cup coverage, examining whether the advertising breached rules against blurring editorial content with commercial promotion or encouraging excessive gambling.
CazéTV subsequently said it would adopt a "more specific and conservative" approach to betting ads, moving away from the integrated advertising style that had become a hallmark of its sports coverage. TV broadcasters Globo and Record also introduced stricter rules governing betting sponsorship negotiations in their programming.
The advertising scrutiny came as betting activity surged during the tournament. Brazilians generated more than BR507.3m ($98m) in transactions to licensed operators since the World Cup's start, with average deposits rising from BR188 before the tournament to BR245 during it, and spikes above BR400 on the eve of Brazil's own matches.
Betting activity closely tracked the national team's own run in the tournament, easing once Brazil was eliminated and falling to BR172 on the day of the Spain-Argentina final.
Tunad has also previously reported that Brazil's sports betting market closed 2025 with advertising investment exceeding BR1.4bn across open TV, pay TV, radio and streaming platforms, underscoring how central advertising visibility has become to competition within the sector.
Between January and March 2026, 15.2 million Brazilians placed bets with licensed based on unique taxpayer IDs
