TLDR
- Brazil’s legal betting tax revenue rose from BRL3.1 billion (Jan-May 2025) to BRL5.89 billion during the same period in 2026.
- ANJL President Plínio Lemos Jorge says the growth shows the regulated market is working.
- The 2026 World Cup was the first played under Brazil’s new betting rules, and officials expect it boosted June revenue.
- New federal advertising rules aim to protect bettors, but some cities are passing their own ad bans, which ANJL says creates legal confusion.
- Illegal betting sites still make up close to half of Brazil’s online betting market, despite a new monitoring lab built with Anatel.
Brazil’s regulated sports betting market brought in far more tax money in the first five months of 2026 than it did a year earlier. That is according to Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of the National Association of Legal Gaming (ANJL).
Tax revenue climbed from BRL3.1 billion, or about $620 million, between January and May 2025. It reached BRL5.89 billion over the same months this year.
Lemos Jorge said the jump shows the legal market is growing and paying into public funds. He said the money benefits Brazilian society through tax collection.
World Cup Gave The Industry A Test Run
The 2026 World Cup took place while Brazil’s betting law was already in effect. It was the first World Cup played under the country’s regulated system.
Full revenue figures for June have not been released yet. Lemos Jorge said the tournament likely added to betting activity during that month.
Before the tournament started, regulators issued a rule called Technical Note 3620. It set requirements for advertising and marketing during the World Cup.
Betting companies also ran in-person events during the tournament. These included partnerships with bars and restaurants and giveaways of fan kits.
Lemos Jorge said these events let digital betting brands connect with customers outside of apps and websites.
New Ad Rules Clash With City Bans
The federal government recently issued new advertising rules for the betting industry. Lemos Jorge called the rules an added layer of protection for both bettors and companies.
At the same time, some Brazilian cities have started banning betting ads in public spaces. Rio de Janeiro and João Pessoa have already passed such bans, and São Paulo is considering one.
Lemos Jorge argued these local bans are not legal. He pointed to Article 22 of Brazil’s Constitution, which gives the federal government sole authority over commercial advertising rules.
He said having different ad rules in each of Brazil’s 26 states and thousands of cities would create confusion for operators.
The industry already follows a self-regulation code called Annex X. It was built by ANJL, the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gambling, and the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation.
Brazil holds elections later in 2026, and Lemos Jorge said betting companies have become a political target ahead of the vote. He expects criticism to ease once the election period ends.
Illegal betting sites remain a large part of the market. Lemos Jorge said they still account for close to half of all online betting activity in Brazil.
He warned that raising taxes or tightening ad rules too much could push more bettors toward illegal sites.
To fight this, ANJL runs a monitoring lab with Brazil’s telecom regulator Anatel and the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets. The lab tracks and analyzes illegal betting activity across the country.
Lemos Jorge said the government now recognizes the scale of the illegal betting problem. He said the legal industry plans to keep working with regulators to reduce it.
