Apple faces new questions from Brazil over betting apps accessible to minors

Nearly three months after Brazilian officials first questioned Apple over betting apps accessible to minors, the company has now been given five business days to provide additional details about its App Store safeguards. Here are the details.

Apple pressed on regulatory and age-verification issues

Last April, Brazilian officials notified Apple and Google over an alleged lack of age controls in betting apps on their respective app stores.

At the time, the National Secretariat for Digital Rights (Sedigi) and the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) sent letters to both companies, inquiring about the availability of “countless apps” that either offered or facilitated minors’ access to betting platforms.

Brazil recently passed a new law known as ECA Digital, which requires app stores to restrict minors’ access to gambling content, and Apple responded by introducing age-assurance measures for 18+ apps in the country.

Even so, officials said their initial inquiry found numerous betting apps that appeared to lack proper age restrictions or federal authorization, raising questions about how effectively those safeguards were being enforced.

While there is little transparency around Apple’s full response, the agencies now say the company addressed a significant portion of their initial questions. Still, they are seeking additional information.

From Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Safety (via Canaltech):

The requested clarifications include how the regulatory authorizations of apps made available in Brazil are validated; the technical criteria used to distinguish simulation apps from apps involving bets with economic value, including cases in which features are hidden or changed after approval; and the mechanisms adopted to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content.

Information was also requested on active monitoring procedures; risk-prioritization criteria; average removal times after detection; and the timetable for implementing the announced corrective measures, including the software update intended to prevent users under 18 from downloading apps classified as not recommended for that age group.

The secretariats noted that Google’s answers were less satisfactory and asked for more detail on how the company verifies authorized operators, monitors apps whose licenses are suspended or expire, measures enforcement effectiveness, and prevents minors from finding or downloading betting apps.

Finally, the secretariats requested that Apple’s and Google’s responses be made public, but allowed confidential information to be submitted separately under restricted access.

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