Brazilians spent more than R$50 billion on online betting

Brazilian spending on online gaming and betting, known as bets, reached around US$11.1 billion between January and November last year, equivalent to R$54 billion. The approximate value corresponds to remittances made to companies in the sector that operate abroad.

The estimate was made by Folha based on the most recent statistics released by the Central Bank. Although other operations are recorded in the same balance of payments account, the disaggregation of data allows an approximate calculation of the volume paid in transactions involving games and bets.

The total amount of resources accumulated in 11 months is greater, for example, than that handled by Brazilian beef exports in the entire year 2023.

Sales of the product reached US$9.5 billion (R$46.3 billion) last year, according to Secex (Secretariat of Foreign Trade), linked to the Mdic (Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services). The country is one of the largest exporters of beef in the world.

Of the total spent by Brazilians on betting sites abroad, around US$8.9 billion (R$43.3 billion) correspond to resources transferred to form the amount to be shared among the winners – the amount bet by the players. Another US$2.2 billion (R$10.7 billion) refers to the service fee retained by the sites that operate the bets.

Since 2018, following a law approved during the Michel Temer (MDB) government, the offer of sports betting sites (bets) has been permitted in Brazil. Since then, advertisements from the sector began to dominate the open TV schedule, especially during football games.

Social networks were also flooded with advertisements for gambling games, made viral by the actions of famous influencers. As the topic was not regulated during the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, these companies operate in other countries, where registration is legal.

The most recent data from the Central Bank shows that US$7.1 billion returned to Brazil between January and November last year. The value, equivalent to around R$34.5 billion, refers to prizes received by bettors residing in the national territory.

The Central Bank made a change to the external sector statistics – which are released periodically – from 2023 onwards, when the new exchange rate law came into force. With the change, the data began to give an approximate idea of ​​the values ​​that are transferred to bets on international sites.

As there is a new code for recording these operations, which appear in two specific accounts, it is possible to compare the 2023 values ​​with remittances from the same period in 2022 and draw conclusions about the activity based on the variation in the flow of resources in the interval analysis.

BC data suggests that there was a significant increase in the volume of dollars for activities such as online gaming and betting abroad and implicitly shows that expenses not related to the sector (aimed at other operations with “cultural, personal and recreational services”) remained unchanged. if at the same level, with zero nominal growth.

The release of the closed number until December is scheduled for January 25th, but must be postponed due to the mobilization of BC employees, who are demanding salary adjustments and career restructuring measures.

Datafolha research showed that 15% of the Brazilian population says they bet or have already bet online. The average monthly expenditure among all people who bet is R$263 — equivalent to 20% of the 2023 minimum wage. Three in ten bettors spend more than R$100 per month, according to Datafolha.

The phenomenon is widespread across the country, including among Bolsa Família beneficiaries, but is more prevalent among young people and men. Almost a third of people aged between 16 and 24 said they had already bet.

Researchers, doctors, educators and even members of support groups for game addicts have reported a spread among young people and even teenagers, with a recurrence of problematic cases. This occurs despite the legal prohibition for children under 18 years of age.

The values ​​that rotate in the betting market can be even higher. Without regulation, sites offer non-sports, casino-style games. Some of them are under investigation, including for not paying prizes.

Authorities investigating betting companies suspect, according to reports made to Folha, that some of the sites maintain headquarters in other countries but the money would stay in Brazil, with the support of oranges.

The Lula (PT) government started working on regulations last year. Law has already been approved to define taxation and operation of these companies, which must be accredited to operate in Brazil.

In a preliminary call, opened even before the law was approved, the Ministry of Finance received 134 manifestations from companies interested in operating in the Brazilian betting market.

Full regulation should be finalized in the first half of the year. During this period, companies based outside the country continue to offer online betting in Brazil.

This initiative to regulate the online betting market was one of the items in the package sent by the Ministry of Finance to Congress to increase revenues in 2024 and reduce the deficit in public accounts.

The new legislation provides for a 12% tax on bookmakers’ revenue (excluding prize payments). Bettors must pay 15% of the amount obtained from the prize.

The amount was recorded at a time when online casinos were included in the text being processed. The government estimates, based on this, that it can raise around R$3 billion just through grants.

Folha questioned the Ministry of Finance about new revenue projections, the pace of companies entering the market, among other topics, but did not receive a response until the publication of this text.

*With information from Folha de São Paulo

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