Brazil online betting revenue reaches €2.76bn in first six months of regulation
The Brazilian gambling regulator has reported that there are over 17 million bettors in the country.
Brazil.- The Secretary of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has reported that the first six months of regulated gambling in Brazil generated over R$17.4bn (€2.76bn) in revenue for operators. Meanwhile, the number of people placing wagers in the newly regulated sector surpassed 17 million.
SPA head Regis Dudena released the figures in a first-half report on the market following the launch of regulated gambling in Brazil on January 1. Licensed operators have so far contributed R$3.8bn (€670m) in federal taxes and R$2.14bn (€380m) for social projects.
As reported by Focus Gaming News Brazil, Dudena stated that from January to June, 17.7 million Brazilians placed bets. Some 71.1 per cent of these bettors were men, and players spent an average of R$164 (€26) on bets per month. The largest age group of bettors were those between the ages of 31 and 40 (27.8 per cent).
The SPA secretary said there had been “uncontrolled growth” in online gaming in the years between legalisation and the introduction of regulating but that now the Brazilian state had “taken back control of this sector.”
“The lack of control that existed from 2019 to 2022 is largely responsible for the problems we are experiencing today. It’s now up to us to clean the house. We need to sort out this mess,” said Regis.
Regis said it was important to disclose data on the number of players and their profiles. “This regulatory data will also be used to feed the Unified Health System (SUS) so that it can prepare to receive bettors with health problems related to gambling addiction.”
The Ministry of Finance is currently developing a nationwide gambling exclusion platform for Brazil. This will prevent those who receive welfare payments such as the Bolsa Família program and Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC) from placing bets. It will also list public officials working in the betting industry, professional athletes, referees, managers, inspectors, or sports coaches and people diagnosed with gambling addiction;
Dudena also commented on the possibility of further restrictions on advertising as proposed by some legislators, but warned against trying to do “everything at once”. The comments come after senator Humberto Costa proposed a bill – PL 3,754/2025 – that seeks to ban under 21s from betting while also restricting advertising and prohibiting the sponsorship of sporting, cultural and educational events.
“Advertising is very important for distinguishing between authorised and unauthorised bookmakers,” Dudena said. “I wouldn’t welcome an absolute restriction on advertising at this time. You can’t say people will get rich, achieve social success, or will have a supplementary income. That’s prohibited.”
“The exposure of athletes, for example, in the environment, if it’s something we recognize as undesirable, we’ll eventually restrict it. If the activities of public figures need to be restricted, we will eventually restrict them. What can’t we do? Everything at once.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is also preparing to roll out Brazil’s new National Betting System (SINAPO) as a central hub for licensed online gambling operators. Following the launch of regulated online gambling in January, the SPA has been working on the platform to unify monitoring of the market at federal and state levels and obtain a clear picture of compliance.
