The sports betting market, also known as ‘bet’, has become increasingly popular among online users.
The country ranks third worldwide in consumption of bookmakers, behind only the United States and England, according to data from Comscore, a data analysis and digital media metrics company.
In Brazil, the sector is one of the fastest growing, generating more than RS 120 billion per year. With the regulation of sports betting in the country on the agenda in Congress, the sector is aiming for even greater revenue.
The authorization for betting platforms to operate in Brazil also points to an improvement in government revenue.
The ‘Bet’ segment has already attracted significant investments from international operators who are eager to enter one of the largest potential markets in the world.
Companies are preparing to compete in a regulated environment by establishing partnerships with sports clubs, media and other interested parties.
For Leonardo Baptista, CEO and co-founder of Pay4Fun, the first payment institution, which operates in the sports betting sector, to receive authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil, the regulation comes to meet a growing demand in the sector, establishing clear guidelines for the market and filling the regulatory gaps that have been observed since the creation of the sector.
How the Bets sector operates in Brazil
Although the legalization of fixed odds sports betting was sanctioned by Michel Temer by law 13.756/18, at the end of his government in 2018, the market is still not regulated and betting houses operate in Brazil with licenses from other countries, such as United Kingdom, Malta and Curacao, which are the most popular.
The law originally established a two-year deadline for regulating the sector, with the possibility of extension for another two years.
However, the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, had until the end of 2022 to implement the regulation of sports betting. At this moment, the responsibility for regulating the sector lies in the hands of the current government.
The absence of regulation has inhibited potential business partnerships with international operators, who are expressing concern due to the lack of clear guidelines in the regulatory environment.
The future of this growing sector depends on the decisions that will be taken by the Senate, which has until October 30th to evaluate bill 3626/23 as a matter of urgency.
The accelerated growth of the sports betting sector
In just a few years, the sports betting industry has become a billion-dollar business in Brazil. Recent research by Datahub, a platform that works with big data and analytics, shows that the online betting segment grew 360% in Brazil between 2020 and 2022.
Brazil leads the ranking of countries that access the most betting websites in the world.
In the last year alone, more than 14 billion accesses were recorded, according to a survey by Coupon Válido and Similar Web, the increase in online traffic reflects the growing popularity of sports betting in the country.
Pix boosted the popularity of Bets in Brazil
The expansion and ease of Pix helped to popularize betting in the country, further boosting the growth of this market.
The modality has become the preferred payment method among users of online betting sites, according to a survey carried out by Pay4Fun.
The research revealed that 9 out of 10 users use Pix to carry out transactions on sports betting sites.
What to expect from the regulated sports betting market
Although the ‘bet’ market in Brazil is still awaiting regulatory approval, the steady growth and optimism surrounding this sector makes it clear that sports betting is poised to become one of the country’s main economic drivers in the coming decades.
With this, Brazil is about to join other nations that are already benefiting economically and socially from this rapidly growing market.
