Brazil’s newly regulated gambling market attracted 17.7 million bettors in the first six months of the year.

Brazil enacted Law No. 14,790/2023 (the “Law of Bets”), which established a federal regulatory framework for fixed-odds sports betting in January of this year.

A report released by the Ministry of Finance’s Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA-MF) revealed that around 8% of Brazil’s 212 million population placed bets under the new sports betting regulations.

Gamblers can now officially wager on esports after Brazil’s Ministry of Sports issued Ordinance No. 36 in April, which explicitly allowed legal betting on events. 

Stricter rules around licensing have resulted in over 15,000 websites being blocked since October of last year. There are now only 78 licensed betting companies, operating a total of 182 platforms.

Regis Dudena of the SPA-MF stated, “This report has vital importance for regulation. It provides factual data on supervision, control, and market performance, moving from estimates to concrete evidence.”

Brazilian Market Generates Substantial Tax Revenue

The licensed betting companies generated a total of R$17.4 billion ($3.2 billion) in the first half of the year. Of that, the country collected R$3.8 billion ($700 million) in federal taxes.

Entain, one of the largest operators in the country, reported growth of 21% in the newly regulated market this year. The company explicitly targeted the country as an area for future growth in its H1 earnings report.

Flutter also saw revenue grow in the country following the acquisition of NSX, the company behind BetNacional.

In the company’s Q2 earnings report, CEO Peter Jackson stated, “The Brazilian market remains highly competitive, and we retain a strong conviction that scale operators with the best products will win the largest share of the market.“

Lawmakers Propose Tighter Restrictions

Bettors wagered an average of R$164 ($30) per month in the first half of the year. But, there have been calls to introduce a cap that would limit the amount players can legally bet.

Lawmakers have proposed capping the betting limit at the same amount as Brazil’s minimum wage, which is around R$1,500 (approx. $290) per month.

A bill introduced in the Senate last month also proposes raising the minimum betting age from 18 to 21 years old.

Over 22% of bettors in the first half of this year were aged between 18 to 25. The largest group of gamblers was aged 31-40 (27.8%), and 71% of bettors were male.

Additionally, the bill proposes a ban on gambling sponsors in sports. With esports betting legal, betting companies have agreed deals with esports teams. Betway was formerly particularly active in Brazilian Counter-Strike, sponsoring MIBR (Made in Brazil).