Brazil
Inside Brazil’s race to the finish line
The buzz around a fully-regulated Brazilian sports betting market has been amplified since the passing of legislation in late December 2023. As operators await the publication of a regulatory framework later this year, many industry stakeholders are trying to prepare themselves for meeting licensing requirements.
Marc Crean, OpenBet’s VP for Latin America and Canada, shares predictions for the months ahead.
After a two-decade wait for a legalised gambling market, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio da Silva, has now sanctioned law 14790 to approve gambling regulation in the booming LatAm market. The government has been engaging key stakeholders and giving regular and transparent updates over recent months and the path to regulation looks optimistic with a thriving market is in sight.
There are strong opinions from all sides about Brazilian regulation and how it should look, yet there is great potential to create new revenue streams and jobs for the country, which is generally viewed as the jewel in the crown of LatAm’s sports betting market. However, before the market can operate smoothly, sustainably, and safely, the serious issues of match-fixing, money laundering and responsible gaming must be ironed out. A highly publicised investigation concerning allegations of widespread match-fixing is still ongoing, with seven professional football players charged for alleged crimes in the scandal.
The government wants to establish a market that provides sports betting entertainment to Brazilians, generates revenue for the country and protects local players and institutions as quickly as possible, but the specifics of the regulations will change over time as technology develops. The framework must be flexible enough to cope with changing demands and stay one step ahead of illegal operations when it is finalised.
One introduction is a 12% GGR tax on operators, which is a sustainable rate and in line with other successful regions, as well as a 15% tax on bettors’ net gains. This is expected to generate R$3 billion in revenue for the Brazilian government each year. However, while the government will struggle to satisfy all stakeholders, taxes are not unique to Brazil nor to sports betting. Most market estimates have Brazil as third or fourth in the world in terms of size, and the proposed cost of a license is in line with UK and US costs.
What is clear is that Brazilian regulators must exercise caution on a proposed tax on player winnings. There is room to do this successfully based on how the tax imposition is implemented. It is in the law, so it is going to be in place, but the devil is in the details. It has been seen again and again how this type of tax, whilst well-intentioned, can reduce channelisation and end up pushing people to black market sites.
Shaping the industry of the future
Brazil has its own unique cultural, social and economic dynamics that will have a major influence on product, operations and marketing activities. Regulation will create a massive amount of local opportunity both on the supply and the operator side of our industry. However, people tend to overestimate the need for local product and underestimate the need for local marketing and operations. This invariably creates opportunities for local companies and I think this is healthy for our industry.
Early-adoption, innovation and an unparalleled consumption of social media are three local dynamics that will have a massive impact on the shape of the industry. As always, companies with boots on the ground will be better placed to understand and tap into these areas.
When you add in the size of the market and the passion for sports, we can expect to see a lot of new ideas and innovations coming out of Brazil once the market fully opens up and starts to flourish.
Global entertainment brand SkillOnNet has announced the expansion of its partnership with premium slot provider Habanero into Brazil, as both companies deepen their presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing regulated iGaming markets.
Players at PlayUZU.bet.br and BacanaPlay.bet.br now have access to Habanero’s acclaimed portfolio of slots and tables games. This includes fan-favorites like Hot Hot Fruit, new titles like Love & Riches Eldorado, and Habanero’s industry-renowned progressive slot, Jackpot Race, which uses a sophisticated algorithm to deliver instant prize drops to players.
Brazil’s newly regulated online gaming market, effective since January 1, 2025, is projected to generate $2.9 billion in gross annual revenue this year, with potential growth to $6.3 billion by 2028, according to Vixio regulatory analysts.
SkillOnNet was among the first operators to secure licensing in the country, launching PlayUZU.bet.br and BacanaPlay.bet.br earlier this year.
The rollout of Habanero’s games into SkillOnNet’s Brazilian platforms reflects the company’s strategy of offering diverse and high-quality gaming experiences tailored to local markets.
Arcangelo Lonoce, Head of Business Development at Habanero, said: “We are extremely pleased to extend our partnership with SkillOnNet to Brazil and further boost our collaboration. As one of the most anticipated market openings in a number of years, it has been a key focus for us. We are delighted that games like Hot Hot Fruit, Santa’s Village, and Zeus Deluxe – all of which have already proven successful in several other markets – will now be available to SkillOnNet’s Brazilian customers.”
Jani Kontturi, Head of Games at SkillOnNet, said: “Brazil represents one of the most exciting and dynamic opportunities in the global iGaming landscape. Partnering with Habanero in this market allows us to deliver world-class content to a rapidly growing audience hungry for premium gaming experiences. This move reflects our long-term commitment to localized growth and best-in-class entertainment.”
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New partnership opens door for more players to enjoy Playson experience across South America
Playson, an accomplished iGaming industry supplier, has reached an agreement with sports betting and gaming platform technology provider Cactus Gaming, in a move that will extend its reach across Brazil and the wider LatAm region.
Playson’s range of immersive games are already live with brands under the Cactus Gaming operator network, including popular titles 3 Pots Riches: Hold and Win, Burning Fortunator and Luxor Gold: Hold and Win. The studio showcased its flexibility during the onboarding process, integrating within Cactus’ API protocol and making it easier for operators to go live with its content.
The deal ensures more players within Brazil will gain access to Playson’s range of immersive games, with Cactus Gaming holding a commanding position within the country’s iGaming market.
Cactus Gaming has been a leading provider of award-winning sports betting and gaming platform technology since 2018. The company’s mission is to continuously provide innovative, flexible and customer-centric solutions to partners, delivering them the competitive edge.
Cactus Gaming has been standing out in the iGaming, bettech and sports betting sectors being recognised as “Best Whitelabel” at the Sigma America Awards 2024 and as “Best Platform of the Year” at the BIS Awards this year, a great achievement that reinforces the importance to always offer the best services to its clients.
Cristhian Zito, Head of LatAm Squad at Playson, said: “To partner with Cactus Gaming, a recognized leader in the iGaming space, is thrilling. This collaboration not only expands our presence in Brazil and the wider LatAm region but also brings our diverse portfolio of engaging games to a broader audience.
Our integration with Cactus Gaming’s platform has been seamless, and we are confident that their extensive operator network will benefit more from our high-quality and immersive gaming experiences.”
Tiago Carneiro, CRA at Cactus Gaming, said: “Adding Playson’s globally renowned games portfolio onto our gaming platform technology is a major boost to our overall offering.
“We’ve been impressed with the high-quality graphics and immersive nature of their games, which will no doubt capture the attention of our extensive operator network and their players.”
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The Brazilian Ministry of Sports and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) have signed a sports betting integrity cooperation agreement. This partnership will enable the sharing of information concerning suspicious betting activity connected to Brazilian sports and support collaboration on integrity-related investigations.
The agreement brings together the governmental body tasked with safeguarding the integrity and development of Brazilian sport, and the largest international betting integrity monitor for private operators in the world. Leading industry data and intelligence company H2 Gambling Capital has forecast that IBIA covers more than 70% of Brazil’s licensed remote gambling market.
According to ‘The Availability of Sports Betting Products: An Economic and Integrity Analysis’ study published last year, the sports betting regulatory regime in Brazil is projected to create $34bn (R$191.7bn) in sports betting turnover by 2028. With this increased growth comes a greater responsibility to protect customers, sports and betting operators from match-fixing.
A key element of the new Brazilian regulatory framework is the requirement that operators seeking a licence must join an independent sports integrity monitoring body. This licensing requirement is helping to strengthen IBIA’s capacity to monitor, assess and protect betting transactions in Brazil’s regulated sports betting market and maintain the integrity of Brazilian sporting events.
Minister of Sport, André Fufuca, said: “Today we are signing a milestone in the fight against match-fixing in Brazilian sport. Integrity must be a constant principle when it comes to transparency, ethics and, above all, the correctness of sports results. With these agreements, we will have more than enough instruments to curb this practice and guarantee greater transparency in competitions. Thus, athletes, clubs, organizations, fans and the entire population will be able to fully trust in the fairness of the results and, with this, will have peace of mind to develop the full potential of Brazilian sport.”
Khalid Ali, IBIA CEO, said: “IBIA welcomes this important partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Sports. As the market grows, so too does the responsibility to ensure that robust integrity safeguards are in place. This agreement will ensure that information on suspicious betting is swiftly shared with the Ministry to support effective integrity actions. This includes access to detailed, account-level data available only through IBIA’s unique network.”
IBIA is a globally recognised non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard the integrity of the sports and betting sectors by fighting betting related match-fixing and fraud. It provides a free integrity monitoring service to sports governing bodies, regulatory authorities, government ministries, and law enforcement agencies that, importantly, has no potential conflicts created by the provision of competing commercial services, enabling all parties to efficiently and effectively cooperate in investigating, prosecuting and deterring sports betting related match-fixing.
IBIA monitors over $300bn per annum in betting turnover across more than 140 sports betting brands globally, making IBIA the largest betting integrity monitor of its type for private operators in the world. The association’s unrivalled access to detailed global customer transactional data has, and will continue, to play a pivotal role in protecting the Brazilian sports betting market and sporting events from corrupt activity. IBIA recently released its global alert data for the first quarter of 2025, detailing that 63 cases of suspicious betting were reported to the relevant authorities.
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