Brazil closed its first year of the regulated sports betting market with results that combine encouraging signs and structural challenges that have not yet been fully resolved. The report “Brazil’s Gold Rush,” prepared by BETBY, brings together industry data and specialist analysis to map out what has happened since the regulatory framework came into force and what is expected in the coming years.
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The document positions Brazil among the five largest betting markets in the world and describes the first regulatory cycle as a strategic laboratory that forced operators, regulators, and ecosystem players to learn in real time.
A start marked by adjustments and transition
The first half of 2024 was dominated by the publication of ordinances and complementary regulations that sought to consolidate the market’s legal framework. According to Magnho José, editor of BNLData and president of the Brazilian Institute of Legal Gaming (IJL), the first six months were for regulatory adjustments, while the second half of the year marked the effective beginning of the transition from the informal to the legal market.
“While regulation arrived late, after a regulatory vacuum of almost six years, its implementation represents a significant step forward. This prolonged absence of rules was extremely detrimental to the market, as it allowed several illegal operators to operate in Brazil without licenses or supervision, contributing to structural problems and a negative public perception that society still deals with today,” José noted in the report.
This regulatory gap left a complex legacy: the consolidated presence of offshore operators who, at the time of regulation, already had established user bases and competitive advantages that are difficult to counter in the short term.
The real cost of operating in a regulated market
Fernando Garita, managing partner and co-founder of Kabata Group, was one of the experts who most clearly highlighted the difference between operating in an offshore market and doing so within a regulated environment. Beyond meeting the technical requirements to obtain a license, operators had to face tax burdens, integration with local systems, regulatory compliance structures, and responsible gaming policies that did not exist before.
“In practice, this first regulatory cycle is becoming an important strategic laboratory for understanding the real costs and competitive dynamics of the Brazilian market,” Garita stated.
The executive also stressed that the new regulatory structure in Brazil marked the beginning of a new phase for the online gaming industry throughout Latin America, with implications that go beyond the country’s borders.
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Priorities for the second year of regulation
With the first cycle completed, the focus of specialists shifts toward what must happen in 2025 and 2026 to consolidate the market. Garita identified operational efficiency, cost optimization, intelligent customer retention, and the construction of local strategic alliances as central axes.
“Operators who manage to structure more efficient operations tend to gain a competitive advantage in the market,” said the executive, who also noted that the new scenario requires a change in perspective that goes beyond mass user acquisition.
Montgomery, for his part, identified investing in customer satisfaction, strengthening player loyalty, reducing exposure to complaints, and monitoring merger and acquisition opportunities that the consolidating market will begin to generate as priorities for the second year.
José added two more structural concerns: preventing an increase in the tax burden on the sector and strengthening actions against illegal operators, in addition to warning about the need to balance the public perception of gambling in the Brazilian political environment.
A market in formation with long-term potential
The BETBY report does not present Brazil as a mature market, but rather as one in formation, with the tensions inherent in a regulation that arrived late and still has to demonstrate its ability to organize a sector that operated for years in informality. The initial channeling of 72% is a positive figure, but the projection of a temporary setback in 2026 serves as a reminder that the work is not finished.
What is clear is that Brazil represents a long-term opportunity for operators who can sustain themselves during the adjustment phase and build efficient structures from within the regulated market. Projections toward 2030 confirm this trend, provided that the regulatory environment manages to consolidate and the fight against illegal operators progresses steadily.
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