Brazil iGaming 2025: $7bn GGR in First Regulated Year

Brazil’s regulated betting market generated BRL37bn ($7bn) in gross gaming revenue during its first full year of regulation, with 79 licensed operators serving tens of millions bettors across 2025, according to data published by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) in January 2026. The figure exceeded the SPA’s pre-launch projection of around BRL31bn and confirmed Brazil’s position as one of the top five regulated online gambling markets globally.

The launch on 1 January 2025 ended close to a decade of operators serving Brazilian players from offshore jurisdictions including Malta, Gibraltar and Curacao, or with no licence at all. Law No. 14,790/2023, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in December 2023, brought all fixed-odds betting and online gaming activity under federal oversight.

From grey market to regulated regime

For close to a decade, sportsbooks operated in Brazil without a domestic framework. International groups serviced Brazilian customers from offshore jurisdictions, while local brands built market share through aggressive football sponsorships and influencer marketing. The 2023 law and subsequent SPA ordinances closed that period. Operators now require a federal authorisation costing BRL30m for up to three brands, must hold a BRL5m guaranteed reserve account, and must operate through a Brazilian legal entity with at least 20% domestic ownership.

A defining feature of the regime is the .bet.br domain rule. Every licensed operator must serve Brazilian players exclusively through a .bet.br URL, making compliance visible at the browser address bar. Sites operating under any other top-level domain are classified as illegal and subject to blocking by the National Telecommunications Agency, which has taken down more than 25,000 offshore sites since October 2024 under a partnership with the SPA.

B2B suppliers remained outside the licensing perimeter for the first 18 months. That changed in February 2026, when the SPA opened a public consultation on a draft ordinance requiring direct regulatory recognition for platform providers, betting system operators, live casino studios, RNG and game suppliers, KYC and risk vendors, and sports data feeds. The consultation closed on 23 March 2026, with final rules still pending. Once enacted, licensed operators will only be permitted to contract with SPA-recognised suppliers, and existing contracts will need to terminate if the supplier fails to obtain authorisation.

The fiscal return for the Brazilian state has been substantial. The Federal Revenue Service collected close to BRL10bn in gambling-related taxes in 2025, while the SPA collected BRL2.5bn in licence fees and BRL95.5m in inspection fees, according to data released in January 2026. The country also confirmed gradual tax increases on operator GGR, rising from 12% in 2025 to 13% in 2026, 14% in 2027 and 15% in 2028.

Operator rankings by web traffic

To assess the competitive landscape, we compiled traffic data from Ahrefs, Semrush and Similarweb for the leading licensed brands operating on the .bet.br domain. The figures reflect monthly visitors and total monthly visits at the time of analysis. Monthly figures based on the past 3 months data.

Visitors counts individuals over a month. Neither metric converts directly into GGR. A high-traffic site with low average revenue per user can sit below a smaller site with higher-stakes customers. Web traffic is best read as a measure of brand reach and acquisition strength rather than financial performance, and operators with strong partner distribution may show lower web traffic than their actual market share suggests.

The top operators

Kaizen Gaming’s Betano leads the licensed market by both web traffic and operator-reported market share. The Greek-headquartered group holds 27% of the Brazilian betting market in Q1 2025, up from 23% pre-regulation, according to Guilherme Figueiredo, Betano’s Brazil country director, speaking to SBC Leaders magazine. Betano was the first operator to apply for a Brazilian licence in May 2024 and now operates across more than 10 markets, with Brazil among its largest.

“Brazil is not just another market; it is one of the strategic pillars of Kaizen Gaming’s global operations,” Figueiredo said. “Our approach has been to build a sustainable presence through early regulatory engagement, local partnerships and investment in responsible gaming.”

Flutter Entertainment built its Brazilian position through acquisition. The London- and New York-listed group completed its $350m purchase of an initial 56% stake in NSX Group in May 2025, combining the Betnacional brand with its existing Betfair Brazil operation under a new Flutter Brazil entity. Flutter projected the deal would add $220m in revenue in 2025 but generate a $70m adjusted EBITDA loss during integration. The agreement contains put and call mechanisms allowing Flutter to increase its stake at the five-year and ten-year marks.

Super Technologies, the rebranded Superbet Group, became Brazil’s first licensed operator in November 2024 and launched alongside the market on 1 January 2025. The Romania-headquartered group, backed by Blackstone and HPS Investment Partners, secured a €1.3bn refinancing package in February 2025 to fund its Brazilian expansion, and rebranded to Super Technologies in December 2025 to position itself as a broader technology and entertainment platform. Founder Sacha Dragic returned to executive leadership ahead of the Brazilian launch. The group sits within the top three by market share according to H2 Gambling Capital.

Entain operates in Brazil through its Sportingbet subsidiary, which secured a licence ahead of the January 2025 launch. Antonio Forjaz, Entain’s managing director for Latin America, told local press the Brazilian operation benefits from the country’s near-universal use of Pix instant payments, contrasting it with Colombia and Mexico where cash deposits at physical locations remain common.

Stake operates in Brazil through its locally licensed Stake.bet.br entity, separating its regulated Brazilian product from the global offshore operation founded by Ed Craven. The brand has built scale through influencer partnerships and football sponsorships.

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Football sponsorships and media deals

Football sponsorship served as the primary brand-building channel for betting operators throughout the run-up to regulation and across 2025. Brazilian Série A clubs collectively received roughly BRL1bn in betting sponsorships in 2025, according to estimates cited by Andre Santa Ritta, partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados. Eighteen of the 20 top-flight clubs were sponsored by betting brands during the season.

Betano holds the most prominent portfolio. The brand is the title sponsor of the Brasileirão Série A and the Copa do Brasil, and serves as front-of-shirt sponsor for Flamengo on a deal reported at BRL220m per year, the largest single shirt sponsorship in Brazilian football. Pixbet holds a separate BRL115m annual sponsorship with Flamengo according to other estimates. Superbet sponsors Fluminense and São Paulo, with the Fluminense deal extended through 2030. Esportes da Sorte sponsors Bahia, Ceará and Corinthians, with the Corinthians deal valued at BRL103m annually. Sportingbet sponsors Palmeiras through 2027. Other notable shirt deals include H2bet with Atlético-MG, VBet with Botafogo, 7K with Vitória and Mirassol, and Betfair with Cruzeiro and Vasco da Gama.

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The sponsorship picture has shifted in 2026. Only 13 of the 20 Série A clubs feature betting brands as their primary shirt sponsor this season, down from 18 in 2025. Superbet CEO Alexandre Fonseca told local press the brand was redirecting investment toward FIFA World Cup campaigns and regional naming-rights deals. Betano’s Figueiredo cited regulations prohibiting the use of unspent customer deposits for advertising as a driver of more disciplined sponsorship valuations.

Crash games and live casino define player preferences

Brazilian player preferences differ from the slot-dominated profile typical of European markets. Two verticals account for the bulk of casino activity: crash games and live casino.

Crash games rose to dominance in Brazil through Spribe’s Aviator, which launched in 2018 and has since become the country’s reference title in the category. The format suits the local audience for several reasons. Rounds are fast, settling in seconds rather than minutes. The multiplier mechanic offers high upside on small stakes. And the in-game chat and live bet feed give the title a social dimension that resonates with Brazilian players. Smartsoft Gaming, Gaming Corps and Aviatrix Games sit among the other top providers in the crash vertical.

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Live casino draws on a different but related dynamic. Brazilian players have shown a pronounced preference for live dealer products over RNG slots, citing trust as the primary driver. A widely reported view among Brazilian bettors is that slots feel opaque or rigged, while live streaming of a dealer at a physical table makes the game’s fairness visible in real time. Portuguese-language and Spanish-language Blackjack and Roulette tables consistently outperform other live verticals. Evolution, Pragmatic Play Live, Playtech Live and Ezugi are the main suppliers targeting local-language tables, with several launching dedicated Brazilian studios in 2025.

Both verticals share the social component that sets the Brazilian market apart. Live chat, visible win feeds and large concurrent player counts reinforce gambling as a community activity rather than a solitary one. Operators have adapted product mixes accordingly, with crash games and live tables typically positioned ahead of slots in lobby placement.

Political risk and the path through 2026

The regulated market faces its most significant political challenge to date. On 7 March 2026, Lula used a televised address marking International Women’s Day to call for an outright ban on online casinos. He returned to the theme repeatedly through the spring, framing online gambling as a household debt and family welfare issue. The earlier shift in government posture had been signalled in October 2025, when the administration proposed doubling the betting tax.

Brazil’s Lula Calls for Ban on Online Betting Platforms

On 15 April 2026, the Workers’ Party (PT) legislative caucus submitted Bill PL-1808/2026 to Congress, proposing the full repeal of all provisions governing online betting introduced under Law 14,790/2023. The bill carries no signature from Lula or senior federal government members, and remains a parliamentary initiative rather than coordinated executive policy. Whether the proposal advances depends on a Congress whose member parties have substantial financial exposure to the betting sector through campaign donations and football club sponsorships.

The government has already moved on adjacent restrictions. On 30 April 2026, Lula announced the Novo Desenrola Brasil debt renegotiation programme, which bars participating beneficiaries from accessing licensed betting platforms for one year. The licensed sector responded that the measure would push affected bettors to the offshore market, where consumer protections do not apply.

Industry estimates put illegal market share at between 30% and 60% of total Brazilian betting activity, with the SPA confirming more than 39,000 illegal sites have been blocked since October 2024. The federal tax authority Receita Federal forecasts up to BRL13bn in gambling-related receipts in 2026, contingent on the regulated market remaining stable. Whether that forecast holds will depend on the outcome of PL-1808/2026, the speed of B2B supplier recognition, and the political tone Lula sets ahead of the 4 October 2026 presidential election.

Official and primary sources cited in the article:

Brazilian government and regulator sources

Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) — Ministry of Finance official page https://www.gov.br/fazenda/pt-br/assuntos/loterias

Law No. 14,790/2023 (the Bets Law) — full text on Planalto https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2023-2026/2023/lei/l14790.htm

SPA Normative Ordinance No. 1,231/2024 (technical rules for licensed operators) https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/portaria-spa/mf-n-1.231-de-1-de-agosto-de-2024-578291614

SPA Ordinance No. 1,212/2024 (DARF tax collection rules) https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/portaria-spa/mf-n-1.212-de-30-de-julho-de-2024-575307801

SPA Ordinance No. 817/2025 (2025-2026 regulatory agenda) https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou/-/portaria-spa/mf-n-817-de-15-de-abril-de-2025-624258870

SPA H1 2025 market data release (Sigap report, August 2025) — Ministry of Finance press release https://www.gov.br/fazenda/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2025/agosto

SPA full year 2025 data release (January 2026) — Ministry of Finance https://www.gov.br/fazenda/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2026/janeiro

SPA B2B Supplier Recognition draft ordinance — public consultation on Brasil Participativo (open 4 Feb to 23 March 2026) https://www.gov.br/participamaisbrasil/spa-mf

Receita Federal (Federal Revenue Service) — tax collection data https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br

National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) — illegal site blocking partnership with SPA https://www.gov.br/anatel/pt-br

Bill PL-1808/2026 (PT proposal to repeal Bets Law) — Chamber of Deputies https://www.camara.leg.br/propostas-legislativas

Provisional Measure No. 1,355/2026 (Novo Desenrola Brasil) https://www.in.gov.br/en/web/dou

Operator official sources

Flutter Entertainment — NSX acquisition completion press release https://www.flutter.com/news-and-insights/press-releases/flutter-entertainment-announces-completion-of-nsx-acquisition/

Superbet Group / Super Technologies — €1.3bn refinancing announcement https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/02/11/3024543/0/en/Superbet-Group-secures-1-3-billion-refinancing.html

Kaizen Gaming — Betano Brazilian licence announcement https://www.kaizengaming.com/blogs/Betano-ushers-in-new-era-of-regulation-in-Brazil

Industry data and analysis (secondary, for cross-reference)

LCA / IBJR illegal market sizing report (September 2025) https://ibjr.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/LCA_IBJR_sizing_ilegal_gambling_market_eng_version.pdf