Santa Catarina ruling finds platform negligent for not implementing responsible gambling safeguards and awards additional moral damages
A civil court in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina has ordered an online betting operator to compensate a customer who lost a total of BR217,800 over an eight-month period, after finding that the platform failed to put in place adequate responsible gambling protections. The decision represents another significant development in Brazil’s evolving legal approach to consumer protection and operator accountability in the rapidly expanding betting and gaming sector.
According to the judgment, the player incurred the losses between June 2024 and February 2025 while using the platform Responsa Gamming. The court ruled that the operator must refund the full amount wagered during that period and also pay an additional BR10,000 in moral damages for the psychological and financial distress suffered by the claimant.
Court documents indicate that the player developed compulsive gambling behaviour, channeling all available income into betting activities in the expectation of achieving financial recovery or profit. Instead, the pattern of play reportedly intensified, leading to escalating losses and worsening personal circumstances. The judge concluded that the operator failed to fulfil its duty of care by not identifying warning signs of problematic gambling and by not intervening with appropriate protective measures.
In the written decision, the court stated that the company had neglected to adopt basic safeguards commonly associated with responsible gambling frameworks. These included the absence of effective loss and deposit limits, a lack of systems capable of detecting compulsive or high-risk behaviour, insufficient risk warnings, and inadequate monitoring tools. The judge noted that such mechanisms are essential to preventing harm and that their omission constituted negligence on the part of the operator.
“By failing to implement effective barriers such as loss limits, mechanisms to detect compulsive behaviour, clear warnings about risks and monitoring systems, the defendant acted negligently, directly contributing to the aggravation of the claimant’s financial losses,” the ruling said. The court further held that the evidence presented was sufficient to establish a causal link between the operator’s omissions and the damage suffered by the player.
The case proceeded without a defence from the operator, which did not submit a response and was therefore declared in default. As a result, the court accepted the factual claims advanced by the claimant as uncontested, strengthening the basis for full restitution and the award of non-material damages. The identity of the player has not been disclosed, and the company has not issued any public statement on the ruling.
The decision adds to a growing body of Brazilian jurisprudence emphasising the legal responsibility of betting operators to actively protect vulnerable customers. Recent cases have increasingly required platforms to implement exclusion measures, monitoring systems, and other safeguards, signalling that courts are prepared to hold operators financially liable where failures in responsible gambling controls lead to demonstrable harm.
