Illegal Betting: Brazil Loses Up to R$10 Billion in Taxes
Brazil faces an annual fiscal loss that may reach 10 billion reais due to the advance of betting platforms operating outside the law. Despite the ongoing regulation process, the underground market continues to grow and already occupies a significant portion of the sector.
A joint study by LCA Consultoria and the Instituto Locomotiva reveals that illegal houses control between 41 and 51 percent of the national market. This implies that the unregulated segment moves between 26 and 40 billion reais per year, without contributing to the tax system.
A lost revenue that could finance public policies
Renato Meirelles, president of the Instituto Locomotiva, pointed out that the uncollected resources, “more than 10 billion reais,” could be allocated to critical areas such as health, education, or affordable housing. Furthermore, he warned that the lack of control over these platforms exposes minors and vulnerable players, something that current legislation expressly prohibits.
The Government intensifies the blocking of illegal platforms
The Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), has intensified actions to take irregular betting pages offline. According to official data, more than 23 thousand pages have already been blocked.
Meanwhile, the legal market is advancing: regulated platforms generate approximately 16 thousand direct jobs and are expected to close the year with 9 billion reais in federal taxes, a figure that should increase with the progress of the final regulation.
Betting regulation in Brazil: progress and challenges
Fixed-odds betting was authorized in 2018, but only received full regulation five years later. Since January of this year, only licensed platforms can operate legally, although various unauthorized companies remain active.
A point of concern among operators and specialists is the increase in the tax burden. A Senate committee approved progressively raising rates: 15 percent in 2026 and 2027, and 18 percent in 2028, above the current 12 percent. The project still needs approval in the Chamber of Deputies.
For André Gelfi, CEO of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling (IBJR), the risk is clear: “when the cost of betting increases in the regulated market, the player tends to migrate to the illegal market.” This, according to the executive, reduces the tax base and can erode the effectiveness of the regulated model.
How to identify a legal platform
The Government has established mechanisms to help consumers. Regulated operators must use domains ending in .bet.br, and can only work with authorized payment methods such as PIX. Illegal platforms, on the other hand, usually avoid mandatory facial recognition and insist on credit card payments.
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