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Brazil has claimed its position as the world’s fifth-largest betting market, with online gambling operators projected to generate $4.139 billion (approximately R$22 billion) in revenue during 2025, according to exclusive data obtained by BBC News Brasil from international consultancy Regulus Partners.
The projections, based on financial reports from publicly traded companies and available sector data, place the United States in a commanding first position with estimated net revenue of $17.312 billion, followed by the United Kingdom ($9.901 billion), Italy ($4.617 billion), and Russia ($4.515 billion).
This marks the first time Brazil has been included in Regulus Partners’ ranking of major markets, as the country lacked regulatory framework for betting operations until 2024.
Brazil is now the 5th largest betting market in the world
Estimated sector revenue in 2025, in US$ billions
Rapid Market Expansion
The Brazilian market has experienced aggressive growth over the past decade, expanding from an estimated $300 million in 2014 to its current multi-billion dollar valuation, according to Paul Leyland, a specialist in economic, financial, and business models for gambling at Regulus Partners.
“The major boost came especially with lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Leyland noted.
The market statistics align with data from the Secretary of Prizes and Betting, which recently reported that 78 companies currently authorized to operate in the country generated R$17.4 billion in revenue during the first half of 2025.
Key Growth Drivers
Several factors have converged to establish Brazil among the top five global betting markets, according to industry experts and sector sources interviewed by BBC News Brasil.
The country’s historical prohibition of gambling created pent-up demand in this segment, explained André Gelfi, CEO of the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) and partner-director at Betsson.
“Brazil has had an almost total prohibition regime on gambling for more than 80 years. When an alternative for gaming and entertainment with these characteristics appears on your phone, in your pocket, people say: ‘Wow, how interesting! I’ve never seen this before,'” Gelfi said.
The extended window between legalization in 2018 and regulation in 2024 allowed operators to establish market presence. During this seven-year period, companies operated with minimal restrictions, developing strategies to attract bettors.
Digital Infrastructure Advantage
Brazil’s advanced digital payment ecosystem has proven crucial to market growth. The Pix instant payment system, launched in 2021 by the Central Bank, has streamlined transactions and removed friction from the betting process.
Antonio Forjaz, general director for Latin America at Entain, owner of Sportingbet, highlighted Brazil’s infrastructure advantages compared to other regional markets.
“In Colombia, for example, there are deposits that are made at newspaper stands, in small shops. Here it’s different, everything is Pix, everything is instant,” Forjaz said, noting that the high level of banking penetration and consolidated digital payment ecosystem make Brazil a more secure location to operate.
The country is now one of the most important markets for the British multinational Entain, according to Forjaz.
“It’s like the US, a high-growth country with a lot of focus [from the company], because it already has considerable revenue and because there is great belief in the potential,” he stated.
Gelfi added that beyond banking penetration, Brazilians demonstrate greater openness to new technologies and digital consumption patterns.
“And this is an industry that is completely digitalized,” he commented.
Football Partnership Strategy
Sports betting companies have invested hundreds of millions of reais in Brazilian football championships in recent years. Among the 20 teams currently in Serie A of the Brasileirão, 18 display betting brand logos on their jerseys.
The five largest sponsorship contracts total more than half a billion reais, according to values recently reported by sports media:
- Betano: R$220 million with Flamengo (owned by Greek multinational Kaizen Gaming International)
- Superbet (Romania): R$113 million with São Paulo
- Esportes da Sorte (Brazil): R$103 million with Corinthians
- Sportingbet: R$100 millions with Palmeiras
- H2Bet (Brazil): R$60 million with Atlético Mineiro
Forjaz explained that in a market where products have little differentiation, advertising serves as a strategy to establish brand recognition among potential consumers. Football serves a dual role as both an advertising vehicle and the primary object of betting activity.
Regulatory Developments
The current regulation prohibits advertising that targets children and adolescents. A bill proposing stricter restrictions, including prohibition of advertisements featuring athletes, artists, influencers, and other public figures, was approved in the Senate in May 2025 and currently awaits action in the Chamber of Deputies.
Gelfi characterized this discussion as “premature,” arguing that a large illegal betting market still exists and that advertising helps channel demand toward companies operating legally with proper registration.
Forjaz echoed this perspective, adding that the illegal market operates “without identity verification, protection against money laundering, verification of use by minors, any type of communication commitment, or tax payment.”
Regarding football partnerships, Forjaz stated that resources injected by the sector into the sport have supported Brazilian football development.
Recent government measures include restrictions on the use of social assistance program funds for online betting, implemented in October 2025 by the Secretary of Prizes and Betting following a Supreme Federal Court determination. The action followed Central Bank technical analysis showing that five million people from families receiving Bolsa Família benefits had transferred money to betting companies using Pix.
Source: BBC News Brasil
