Brazil’s regulated betting market appears to be gaining ground against offshore operators, although illegal platforms still account for a substantial portion of online wagering across the country.
A new study commissioned by the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) estimates that unlicensed operators handled between 38% and 44% of online betting activity during the first half of 2026. That represents an improvement from the 41%-51% range estimated in research published in June 2025.
The latest assessment was produced by LCA Consultores using data gathered by Instituto Locomotiva. The underlying survey was conducted nationwide in May 2026 and involved 2,291 people who gamble.
Illegal platforms remain widely used
Despite the decline in overall black-market share, the survey found several indicators showing that large numbers of Brazilian bettors continue to use services operating outside the regulated system.
Among respondents, 53% said they had wagered during the previous three months on websites that did not require facial recognition. Another 48% had used betting sites without Brazil’s mandatory .bet.br domain, while 37% reported funding betting accounts by credit card and 23% through cryptoassets. These practices are not permitted for nationally licensed betting platforms.
The research also examined how heavily bettors relied on platforms displaying characteristics associated with the unregulated market. About 51% of people in this group said they used only such platforms, while 36% said they placed most of their wagers through them. Another 8% estimated that roughly half of their betting took place there, with 6% saying those sites accounted for a smaller portion of their activity.
Among bettors considered eligible for exposure to the illegal market, 54% were aged between 18 and 29, while 51% earned no more than two Brazilian minimum wages. Women represented 51% of this group and men 49%.
Regulation gains ground after 2025 launch
Brazil’s regulated fixed-odds betting framework has been fully operational since 1 January 2025. Nationally authorised operators must comply with taxation, operational standards and consumer-protection requirements, while approved betting websites must operate through .bet.br domains.
The IBJR believes the narrowing range for illegal-market participation indicates that enforcement and regulatory measures introduced by the federal government are beginning to improve channelisation toward licensed companies. LCA Consultores also interpreted the findings as evidence that the size of the offshore sector has become both smaller and easier to estimate, while stressing that enforcement will need to continue.
The financial contribution of the regulated sector has meanwhile become significant. According to figures cited by the IBJR from Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, betting companies generated BRL9.95 billion in taxes and statutory allocations during the first year of the regulated market. Licensed platforms also paid BRL30 million each in authorisation fees. Separate industry research estimates that regulated operators invested about BRL7.5 billion in share capital and supported approximately 15,500 direct and indirect jobs.
Bettors recognise offshore risks
Consumer awareness of the dangers associated with unlicensed betting is relatively high. The survey found that 77% of respondents either fully or partly agreed that illegal operators fail to follow responsible-gambling rules and therefore present greater risks to customers. Another 13% were neutral, while 10% disagreed to some degree.
The improvement from the 2025 estimate nevertheless leaves Brazil with a sizeable enforcement challenge. Last year’s IBJR-backed research estimated that illegal operators controlled between 41% and 51% of the market and could deprive public finances of as much as BRL10.8 billion annually in lost revenue.
The latest figures therefore point to progress rather than resolution: licensed operators are capturing a larger proportion of Brazilian betting activity, but offshore platforms continue to command a major share of the market more than a year after full regulation began.