Legal operators to make up 9% of Brazil betting market
Yield Sec’s latest analysis, presented exclusively to iGB, reveals that licensed betting brands may represent a mere 9% of Brazil’s burgeoning online gambling market. In the first half of the year, the report identified a staggering 3,674 illegal operators actively operating in Brazil, with 1,587 affiliates promoting these unregulated platforms.
Prior to the August 20 deadline, 114 online operators submitted applications for legal betting licenses, marking the conclusion of a 90-day application window designed to secure licenses ahead of the anticipated launch date of January 1, 2025.
Each obtained license allows for the deployment of up to three distinct online brands (or “skins”), enabling these 114 operators to potentially launch a total of 342 brands come January.
Yield Sec projects that this licensed framework would encompass only around 9% of Brazil’s total online gambling market, leaving a staggering 90% still under the dominion of illegal operators.
Furthermore, the data suggests that approximately 49 million Brazilians, representing 23% of the population, engaged in gambling via the black market during the first half of 2024. This marks a significant increase from the 41 million Brazilians, or 19% of the population, who gambled illegally online throughout the entirety of 2023.
According to Normative Ordinance No 827, those engaging in online betting without the requisite license from January 1, 2025, will face severe repercussions. Sanctions for illegal operators may include fines up to BRL2 billion (£269.8 million/€320.3 million/$354 million) along with a prohibition on applying for a license, lasting up to 10 years in the most egregious cases.
Brazil has long struggled against the black market, but through a comprehensive licensing strategy, the government is collaborating with digital media giants such as Google and Meta to eradicate advertising for these illicit sites.
New regulatory measures require licensed operators to utilize the Bet.br domain, enhancing visibility and accuracy in identifying legal platforms. Additionally, the government is contemplating methods to impede illegal websites from leveraging local instant payment systems like Pix.
Betano Dominates Betting Searches in Brazil
Yield Sec employs advanced AI technologies to scour the web for gambling-related keywords and refines this data through sophisticated algorithms. Utilizing machine learning, the firm makes predictive analyses regarding illegal market trends.
Leading the pack in search interest, Betano has emerged as the most-searched gambling brand in Brazil, amassing approximately 180 million searches between July 2023 and July 2024. Trailing closely is Bet365, with around 175 million searches, while Sportingbet secured third place with nearly 30 million searches.
Other notable brands that garnered significant interest included Blaze and KTO, ranked fourth and fifth respectively, along with Pixbet and Betfair, both of which made the top ten searches.
The challenge of illegal gambling is not confined to Brazil; Yield Sec’s global data suggests that an estimated $5.1 trillion was wagered in black market gambling worldwide in 2023, highlighting the persistent and widespread nature of this issue across the international landscape.
