Gambling contributed $1.65 billion to the Brazilian treasury
The most striking data point regarding gambling tax collection in Brazil is what didn't happen. July marked the end of the World Cup, with the final played on the 19th, yet sector revenues grew by only 6 percent compared to June, a pace similar to previous months. There was no extraordinary jump tied to the tournament, but rather the continuation of a recovery that had been steady since April.
In broad figures, the Receita Federal reported that between January and July 2026, the State collected 8.75 billion reais, approximately 1.65 billion dollars, from taxes linked to gambling and betting, a 76.86 percent increase from the 4.95 billion reais, about 960 million dollars, in the same period of 2025. This amount combines revenues from betting and lotteries operated by Caixa, plus various federal taxes on the activity. In July alone, collection reached 1.46 billion reais, about 283 million dollars, compared to 1.39 billion, approximately 269 million dollars, in June, and has remained above 1.4 billion reais since April, with the exception of March.
Part of this momentum is due to a tax change. The tax rate on gross gaming revenue from sports betting and online gaming increased from 12 to 13 percent on March 26, with the entry into force of Complementary Law 224/2025, on a schedule that plans to raise it to 14 percent in 2027 and 15 percent in 2028. Even so, the Receita itself clarified that the improvement since April is not solely explained by the higher burden, but also by the evolution of the volume wagered. The behavior also respected the seasonal pattern of the first half of the year, with drops in February and March due to Carnival and a sustained recovery since then, according to the monthly analysis presented by tax auditors Claudemir Malaquias, from the Center for Tax and Customs Studies, and Marcelo Gomide, the agency's forecast coordinator.
The monthly comparison confirms that July was no exception: in May, revenues had risen 9.7 percent against April, and in June, 6.2 percent, while April had seen the big jump of 38.4 percent. With the accumulated total up to July, Brazil is already close to the result for the entire last year, when sector revenue reached 9.95 billion reais, approximately 1.93 billion dollars. In seven months, about 88 percent of that figure has already been reached, and if the pace is maintained, 2026 revenue could easily surpass that of 2025 and approach 16 billion reais, around 3.1 billion dollars, by year-end.
The Receita Federal is the agency that administers federal taxes in Brazil, and Complementary Law 224/2025 is the regulation that established the gradual increase in the tax on gross gaming revenue, a scheme that will raise the burden on the sector until 2028 and is already beginning to be reflected in tax collection.
Tags: Brazilian Federal Revenue, Brazil's gaming tax collection, Complementary Law 224/2025, Gross Gaming Revenue tax