Brazil saw an "explosion" in the number of people requesting self-exclusion from online betting platforms during the World Cup.
The data comes from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) obtained by BBC News Brasil.
The survey found the average daily number of self-exclusion requests rose 588% in the tournament's first two weeks compared with an equivalent period in May, before the World Cup began.
Between June 15 and 28, Brazil's Centralized Self-Exclusion Platform, run by the Federal Government, received 250,129 requests to block or extend blocks, averaging 17,866 per day. By July 10, enrollment had climbed to nearly 1 million people, a figure still rising.
By comparison, 38,907 requests were logged over 15 days in May, an average of 2,594 per day.
Groups attribute part of the increase to bettors' concerns about worsening compulsive gambling behavior during a tournament marked by heavy betting advertising, the first World Cup since Brazil's betting market was regulated.
They said some requests likely came from people not yet experiencing compulsive gambling, who chose to protect themselves preemptively.
The SPA attributed the rise to a combination of greater public exposure to betting during the tournament, wider awareness of the self-exclusion tool, and growing recognition of the financial and emotional risks tied to gambling.
Industry representatives, including the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR), cautioned that the rise doesn't necessarily reflect more cases of compulsive gambling, pointing instead to wider awareness of the tool itself.
During the tournament, concern over misuse of personal data by betting companies became the top reason for users to use the tool (29.5%), ahead of loss of control (24.13%) and voluntary decision (18.93%).
Before the World Cup, loss of control over gambling was the leading reason (43.56%), followed by unspecified reasons (16.1%) and financial difficulties (14.07%)
