Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies hosted a public hearing this week to assess tax collection from online betting operators, exposing sharp disagreements between government officials, economists and industry representatives over the sector’s financial and social impact.
During the session, Federal Revenue representative Gustavo Andrade Manrique stated that Brazil collected BR8bn ($680) in taxes from regulated betting companies during 2025, with a further BR3.1bn already collected between January and April 2026.
According to Manrique, Federal Revenue also identified 22 licensed operators that had failed to pay taxes during inspections carried out in the second half of 2025.
Authorities said the companies collectively owed BR111m before later regularizing their situation.
The hearing also focused heavily on gambling-related indebtedness. Fabio Bentes, Chief Economist at the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC), presented research suggesting betting growth is contributing to severe household debt in Brazil.
“For every 10% increase in betting spending, there is an increase of 0.12 percentage points in severe delinquency,” Bentes stated.
Industry representatives strongly challenged those conclusions. Abrajogo President Witoldo Hendrich argued that public debate around betting continues to misunderstand how the sector operates financially.
“Out of every BR100 wagered, BR96 is returned in prizes,” Hendrich said. “Spending is not a reliable parameter for our industry.”
Abrajogo also argued that around half of Brazil’s betting activity still takes place through illegal operators, limiting the effectiveness of tax collection and regulation.
Confusion surrounding revenue calculations became one of the hearing’s main tensions, with lawmakers questioning why estimated betting activity appeared significantly higher than reported tax collection figures.
Deputy Paulo Guedes said Congress would formally request consolidated data from the Ministry of Finance, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) and the Central Bank in order to clarify possible inconsistencies.
Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts recently recommended the creation of a permanent interinstitutional task force to combat illegal betting operators
