Digital Platforms and Markets

Platformization of Addiction

Objective: The project aims to analyze the phenomenon of the expansion of the addiction economy through platforms in new markets such as prediction markets (Polymarket/Kalshi), sports betting, bets and games with reward boxes and resource transfer mechanisms in Brazil. It intends to shed light on the relationship between the platformization of addiction and violations of digital rights, household debt, and the transgression of a fair informational ecosystem.

Duration: 2 years

Status: Em Andamento

Supporter(s): Ford Foundation

Descrição
Equipe
Impacto
Impacto
Biblioteca

Description

The platformization of addiction has produced significant social harm. It is estimated that more than 30 million Brazilians are gamblers, with transactions of around 30 billion reais per month (O Joio e o Trigo, 2026). More than 40% of gamblers are in debt (Anbima, 2025; Procon-SP, 2026), and 35% report debts directly caused by betting (PoderData, 2025). This phenomenon reduces spending on food, worsens quality of life, and induces borrowing, often under abusive conditions. In addition, it disproportionately affects low-income people (Procon-SP, 2026) and younger populations.

By platformization of addiction, we understand a systemic phenomenon of transforming repetitive risky behaviors, such as gambling, into continuous, scalable, and optimized systems to maximize engagement, with the structural production of harm. In this project, we seek to analyze the main elements of this dynamic (including algorithmic personalization, continuous engagement loops, variable feedback, and monetization through recurrence) as well as examine potentially abusive information architectures that produce intermittent reinforcement, accelerated betting cycles (continuous odds loop), and intensive datafication of behavior.

The project aims to broaden public understanding of these structures and their implications, as well as highlight violations of digital rights—in light of the Consumer Protection Code, the Brazilian General Data Protection Law, and the Digital ECA—that contribute to the erosion of a fair informational ecosystem in Brazil.

Team

Rafael Zanatta Director

Carla Rodrigues Coordinator

Rafael Zanatta | Director

Data Privacy Brazil Research Association

Co-director of Data Privacy Brasil. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Law School of the University of São Paulo (USP). He holds a PhD from the Institute of Energy and Environment of USP, with training at the Institute of Information Law of the University of Amsterdam. He has a Master's degree in Law and Political Economy from the University of Turin. He has a Master's degree in Philosophy and General Theory of Law from the Law School of USP. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the State University of Maringá. He was a member of the Vulnera group at the Free University of Brussels and was a visiting researcher on platforms and digital economy at The New School. He edited the books “Sharing economies and law” (Juruá, 2017) and “Data, digital markets and competition” (Casa do Direito, 2022). He is the author of “Collective protection of personal data in Brazil: vectors of interpretation” (Letramento, 2023).

Carla Rodrigues | Coordinator

Data Privacy Brazil Research Association

Master and PhD candidate in Communication and Contemporary Culture from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), graduated in Social Communication with a specialization in Public Relations from the University of Salvador (Unifacs) and in Social Work from UFBA. As a researcher, she is part of the group linked to the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD), the research group Communication, Internet and Democracy (CID/UFBA) and is a member of the Study, Research, and Extension Group on Public Communication, Social Assistance, and Social Work at the University of Brasília (Compass/UnB). She has experience in the intersection between communication, politics, and digital technologies, with a focus on research, strategic analysis, project development, data strategy and planning. At Data Privacy Brasil, she is the coordinator of Digital Platforms and Markets.

Eduardo Mendonça Researcher

Natasha Nóvoa Researcher

Eduardo Mendonça | Junior Researcher

[email protected]

Undergraduate in Law from the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN). Participated in the Youth (CGI.br), Leaders 2.0 (LACNIC) and IDP Privacy Lab (CEDIS-IDP) programs. Research in the areas of Law and the Internet, with a focus on public policies, favelas and urban communities, Internet governance and artificial intelligence. Junior Researcher of Digital Platforms and Markets.

Natasha Nóvoa | Researcher

Specialist in Digital Security, Data Management, and Governance from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). Graduated in law from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Member of the Research Group linked to CNPq "Consumption and Citizenship/Economic Globalization" (UFPA/CESUPA). She was part of the Youth Brazil (NIC.br) delegation at the World Internet Governance Forum (UN - IGF) in Saudi Arabia in 2024. She has a career developed in the area of digital law and competition law, having served at the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) for one year. During her undergraduate studies, she was a CNPq scholarship holder for three consecutive years in the area of digital law, as well as participated in academic exchanges at the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic and at CADE. At Data is a researcher in the area of digital platforms and markets.

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