B3 Partners with Investment Platform to Test People-Backed Betting as Healthier Gambling Alternative

Jun. 02, 2025

B3, Brazil’s stock exchange, and Genial Investimentos have joined forces to present a healthier alternative to the growing online betting market: the Detox Bet campaign. In a global scenario where digital entertainment and financial opportunities converge, the initiative seeks to balance the engagement of sports betting with the financial and mental well-being of players. The campaign is led by Tech & Soul.  

B3 and Genial Investimentos are proactively working to understand and foster new ways to attract and educate the population, promoting a more conscious relationship with financial management.  

The Acao Premiada (Prized Action) project, by Genial Investimentos, is the central pillar of this strategy. Through accessible and interactive language, it gamifies the investment experience, generating engagement similar to sports betting—but with one crucial difference: it does not involve real-money gambling. Participants can make predictions about the performance of financial assets and compete for cash prizes while learning about the stock market, without the risks associated with traditional betting.  

The partnership between B3 and Genial Investimentos also included a neuroscience-based experiment conducted by IBN (Brazilian Institute of Neuromarketing and Neuroeconomics) to analyze participants' emotional responses when interacting with traditional betting and Ação Premiada. The study monitored brain waves (EEG) and heart activity (ECG) of people with varying levels of knowledge about betting and financial markets during simulated betting scenarios.  

Participants showed a positive emotional response—such as happiness and excitement—when interacting with Ação Premiada. More importantly, the experience with Genial’s platform resulted in a more balanced emotional profile, with positive peaks and significantly lower levels of fear, anxiety, and stress compared to traditional betting. Overall, positive emotion scores were consistently higher in Ação Premiada.  

The study also found that the sense of pleasure provided by Ação Premiada increases significantly as participants' knowledge of the financial market grows, surpassing the pleasure generated by betting. This finding highlights the platform’s potential to turn bettors into investors.  

Flavio Waiteman, Partner and CCO of Tech&Soul explained:

"The creative idea behind Detox Bet was to combine B3’s mission of promoting financial education with Genial’s original Ação Premiada concept. ‘Detox’ because Ação Premiada does not involve real-money betting—only predictions about stock performance. To have a chance of winning, participants must follow and deepen their understanding of how the stock market works. This ‘detox’ is important for those who have become addicted to gambling—an alternative to excess. The results show that Ação Premiada offers a more balanced and healthier alternative for those looking to engage with the financial market, without the high stress levels associated with traditional betting." 

 

This joint initiative by B3 and Genial Investimentos aims to debunk the false equivalence between gambling and investing, paving the way for new investors through accessible and engaging language.

Ana Buchaim, Vice President of People, Communication, Marketing, Sustainability, and Private Social Investment at B3 said:

"Initiatives like this study help us understand the neurological triggers in people who gamble and, based on them, improve our investment offerings—whether in platforms, usability, products, or educational tools. Our goal is to expand and create pathways to attract and educate investors. We are ready and eager to contribute even more to financial education in our country."

 

Rodolfo Riechert, CEO of Genial Investimentos said:

"Our goal is to make the financial world more accessible and interesting, encouraging both beginners and experienced investors to deepen their knowledge without any financial risk."