Brazil betting market adjusts to regulation as football sponsorship boom slows

After a year under its new regulatory framework, Brazil’s betting market is moving beyond its early expansion phase, with operators recalibrating marketing strategies, regulators tightening oversight and new regulatory questions emerging.

Brazil’s regulated betting industry continues to evolve rapidly as the country moves through the first full year of its new legal framework for fixed-odds betting.

Recent developments across football sponsorships, advertising debates and regulatory oversight illustrate how the market is transitioning from its initial boom phase toward a more mature and consolidated ecosystem.

While the sector remains one of the most promising in the global iGaming landscape, operators are now facing higher regulatory costs, growing competition and increasing scrutiny from policymakers.

Together, these dynamics are beginning to reshape how betting companies operate — and how they invest — in Latin America’s largest market.

Football sponsorship boom begins to cool

Perhaps the most visible sign of the industry’s transformation can be seen in Brazilian football.

In 2025, betting companies dominated sponsorship deals in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Eighteen of the twenty clubs competing in the country’s top division featured betting operators as their main shirt sponsors, reflecting the aggressive marketing strategies that followed the opening of Brazil’s regulated betting market.

But the picture in the 2026 season is notably different.

Six clubs — Santos, Vasco da Gama, Bahia, Internacional, Grêmio and Coritiba — have recently ended or failed to renew sponsorship agreements with betting operators.

The changes occurred between the end of 2025 and the start of the new season.

Each case has its own explanation. Internacional and Grêmio terminated their contracts with Alfa Bet after repeated delays in payments.

Santos and Bahia mutually agreed to end partnerships with 7K Bet and Viva Sorte Bet, respectively. Meanwhile, Vasco and Coritiba simply allowed their deals with Betfair and Reals Bet to expire.

Among these teams, only Santos has secured a new agreement with another betting operator.

However, the new deal reportedly represents a reduction of roughly 30% in annual payments compared with the previous contract.

Analysts say these developments reflect the new economic realities of Brazil’s regulated betting environment.

Regulation increases operational costs

Brazil’s regulatory model for fixed-odds betting came fully into force on January 1, 2025, following the implementation of Law No. 14.790/2023.

Under the new framework, betting operators must establish a legal entity within Brazil and obtain a federal authorization to operate.

The license carries a fee of approximately R$30 million and is valid for five years.

In addition, companies are subject to a 12% tax on Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), alongside other taxes such as PIS, Cofins and municipal service taxes.

Players are also taxed under the new system. Net winnings exceeding the exemption threshold are subject to a 15% income tax.

According to gambling regulation specialist Gustavo Biglia, partner at the law firm Ambiel Bonilha Advogados, the regulatory shift has significantly altered the economic landscape of the industry.

Before the implementation of the new framework, operators faced fewer regulatory obligations, allowing them to allocate substantial budgets toward marketing and sponsorship deals.

“Previously there was no national authorization requirement nor a comprehensive tax regime covering the activity carried out in Brazil,” Biglia explained.

“That environment allowed companies to invest aggressively in marketing and sports sponsorships.”

Now, operators must operate within tighter margins.

Betting operators shift toward efficiency

Industry experts believe the Brazilian betting market is moving beyond its initial brand-building phase.

Eduardo Corch, a marketing professor at Insper and managing director of EMW Global for Latin America, says operators are increasingly focusing on efficiency rather than visibility.

“The objective is no longer simply to appear on football shirts,” Corch said.

“Companies are prioritizing marketing actions where the return on investment can be measured more clearly.”

Another important factor is competition.

The cost of acquiring customers in Brazil has increased significantly as more operators enter the market.

This intense competition is forcing companies to reconsider how they distribute their marketing budgets.

In many cases, funds are being redirected from high-visibility sponsorships toward digital marketing campaigns and data-driven acquisition strategies.

Pietro Cardia Lorenzoni, legal director of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), expects this trend to lead to a more concentrated market structure.

“The initial stage of the market saw large investments from many companies,” Lorenzoni explained. “But the industry is now proving itself and going through a maturation process. A reduction in spending is a natural outcome.”

Major sponsorship deals still exist

Despite the reduction in sponsorship deals across several clubs, betting companies continue to invest heavily in strategic partnerships.

One notable example is Corinthians’ recently renewed agreement with betting brand Esportes da Sorte.

The deal, extended until 2029, increased annual payments from around R$100 million to R$150 million and could reach R$200 million depending on the club’s sporting performance.

For operators, partnerships with major football clubs remain powerful brand-building tools.

Darwin Filho, CEO of Esportes Gaming Brasil — the company behind the Esportes da Sorte brand — described the agreement as a key strategic move.

“It strengthens our connection with fans and expands opportunities to build the brand through experiences, innovation and more comprehensive activations,” he said.

Still, some analysts believe the initial sponsorship wave may have created inflated expectations within football clubs.

José Sarkis Arakelian, consultant and professor at FAAP, argues that certain deals were driven by an early market bubble.

“There was a bubble — and for some clubs there still is — regarding how much betting companies are paying,” he said.

Legal experts also warn that long-term sustainability in the sector will depend more on regulatory compliance than on marketing spending.

“In the short term money buys exposure,” said Leonardo Henrique Roscoe Bessa, consultant to the Brazilian Bar Association and partner at Betlaw. “In the long term only integrity guarantees permanence.”

Advertising restrictions under debate

Beyond sponsorship deals, advertising policy has become another major topic of debate in Brazil’s betting sector.

A bill currently under discussion in the Senate proposes banning advertising and sponsorship by betting companies altogether.

The proposal, known as bill 3563/2024, has sparked strong reactions across the industry.

Brazil’s betting regulator has expressed concerns about such a sweeping measure.

Daniele Correa Cardoso, deputy secretary at the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) within the Ministry of Finance, warned that banning advertising could have unintended consequences.

“How will users distinguish legal platforms from illegal ones?” Cardoso asked during a recent interview.

According to the regulator, the legal market is still in its early stages, and advertising plays an important role in helping consumers identify licensed operators.

“The market itself is not prohibited,” she noted. “What is prohibited is operating without authorization.”

Authorities fear that removing advertising visibility could push players toward unregulated platforms.

Crackdown on illegal operators continues

Since the launch of the regulated market in January 2025, Brazilian authorities have intensified enforcement efforts against illegal betting sites.

Through cooperation with the telecommunications regulator Anatel, more than 25,000 unauthorized betting websites have already been blocked.

However, regulators acknowledge that blocking websites alone is not sufficient.

Authorities are now focusing on financial channels used by illegal operators, working with payment institutions to identify and block transactions linked to unauthorized platforms.

These efforts are part of a broader strategy to strengthen the regulated ecosystem and protect consumers.

Responsible gambling becomes regulatory priority

Another key focus for the government is responsible gambling.

In a recent event in Salvador attended by around 1,000 consumer protection professionals, officials from the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting presented new initiatives aimed at strengthening player protection mechanisms.

Brazilian law defines fixed-odds betting as a public service that may be operated by private companies under government authorization.

As a result, operators are required to implement safeguards addressing both financial and mental health risks associated with gambling.

One of the most significant developments has been the launch of a centralized self-exclusion system.

The platform allows players to voluntarily block their access to all licensed betting platforms through a single registration process.

Regulators have also introduced stricter rules governing advertising, particularly regarding vulnerable audiences and misleading claims.

Prediction markets emerge as new regulatory challenge

At the same time, regulators are monitoring new types of betting-adjacent products entering the Brazilian market.

The recent announcement that US-based prediction market operator Kalshi plans to enter Brazil through a partnership with brokerage XP International has drawn attention from regulators.

Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts based on the outcome of future events, ranging from political developments to sports results.

Because these products share characteristics with both financial derivatives and betting, their regulatory classification remains unclear in Brazil.

The SPA has clarified that no companies are currently authorized to operate prediction markets in the country.

Andre Santa Ritta, partner at the law firm Pinheiro Neto, believes the issue may become another complex regulatory challenge.

“In Brazil we still have a grey zone regarding prediction markets,” he said. “They are not clearly part of the fixed-odds betting framework, but they are not formally regulated as financial derivatives either.”

For licensed betting operators, the concern is that such products could attract users away from the regulated betting ecosystem.

A maturing market

Taken together, the latest developments suggest that Brazil’s betting industry is entering a new phase.

The early years of rapid expansion — characterized by heavy marketing spending and aggressive sponsorship strategies — are gradually giving way to a more structured and regulated environment.

Operators must now balance compliance requirements, rising customer acquisition costs and increasing political scrutiny.

At the same time, regulators continue to refine the framework in an effort to protect consumers while maintaining a competitive and sustainable legal market.

For international operators and investors, Brazil remains one of the most attractive opportunities in global iGaming.

But as the market matures, success will depend less on rapid expansion and more on strategic positioning within an increasingly regulated landscape.