The Brazilian Government's plans, or empty threats – depending on which way you look at it, to ban online casino are facing pressure from two fronts.
Firstly, survey by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), which represents regulated operators, identified 6,409 unlicensed domains operating normally between 11 and 18 September.
Illegal operators continue to replace blocked domains, which the ANJL emphasizes would get even worse were licensed online casino operations outlawed by the Government.
The Association said 187 domains are currently linked to authorised companies, compared with 66,482 unlicensed addresses blocked by Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) since January 2025.
ANJL estimates that the illegal market currently accounts for around 41% of betting activity in Brazil. It warned that banning online casinos could increase that share to between 78% and 82%, potentially shifting BR8.2bn to BR19.1bn in annual activity to unlicensed platforms and reducing tax revenue by between BR3.6bn and BR7.4bn.
The association also said around three million social program beneficiaries are prevented from betting on regulated platforms, while more than 1.2 million self-exclusion requests have been registered. These restrictions do not apply in the same way to illegal operators.
As illegal sites multiply, sponsorship deals face the heat
Meanwhile, licensed betting companies are preparing for the possibility that new rules could affect their commercial agreements with football clubs.
Superbet has notified São Paulo and Fluminense about the possibility of terminating sponsorship agreements if betting and online casino activity is prohibited. Esportes da Sorte has also issued preventive communications to clubs including Corinthians, while Betano has discussed potential regulatory changes with Flamengo.
The contracts contain clauses covering changes to the legal environment, with consequences depending on the scale of any regulatory change. A wider prohibition could result in termination and potentially trigger disputes over compensation, particularly given the remaining duration of operators’ licences.
The developments leave both the regulated market and Brazilian football waiting for clarity on the Government’s next move, but also make it clear to the Government that clubs and bettors themselves may also suffer from any political activity.
ANJL monitoring also identified 1,682 cases in which brands moved from blocked domains to new addresses, while at least 13.7 new domains were created per day between June and August
