Tax revenue from Brazil’s regulated betting sector rose to BRL5.89 billion ($1.17 billion) in the first five months of 2026, up from BRL3.1 billion over the same period a year earlier, according to figures cited by Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL). In an interview with iGaming Business, Lemos Jorge framed the increase as proof that legalisation is working, while flagging a growing conflict between federal advertising authority and a wave of municipal bans. The numbers, drawn from Federal Revenue Service data, arrive as political pressure on operators builds ahead of national elections.
What the Revenue Jump Signals for Operators
Before the specifics, the strategic picture. The sector’s tax contribution has roughly doubled inside a year, and that shift reshapes how regulators, lawmakers and operators approach the market for the rest of 2026.
- Fiscal weight is now the sector’s strongest defence. A near-90% rise in tax collection gives operators a concrete argument against restrictive measures that could push activity offshore.
- The World Cup delivered its first tournament under a fully regulated Brazilian framework, and June figures, still unreleased by the Federal Revenue Service, are expected to lift the totals further.
- Legal uncertainty is climbing. Municipal advertising bans in Rio de Janeiro and João Pessoa, with São Paulo reportedly weighing similar moves, threaten a patchwork of rules across 26 states and more than 5,000 municipalities.
- Unlicensed sites still hold close to half the market, and ANJL warns that tax hikes or tighter ad rules could hand them more.
- Election-year politics have turned betting firms into a recurring target, a dynamic Lemos Jorge expects to ease once the campaign cycle ends.
The World Cup as a Regulatory Test
Brazilians are passionate about football. That much needs no citation. What was new this time was the setting: a World Cup contested with a licensed market already in place, licensed operators bound by Law No. 14.790/2023 and the ordinances of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).
One week before kick-off, the SPA issued Technical Note No. 3620, setting specific rules on communication, advertising and marketing. The regulator can oversee operations and impose sanctions where firms fall short. Lemos Jorge argued that authorised operators held the line, and he pointed to activity that moved beyond the phone screen entirely, physical activations in bars and restaurants, fan kits, partnership events.
His framing is that these experiences built consumer trust rather than simply chasing volume. Whether every operator matched that standard is a harder question, and one he did not fully close: any lapses during the tournament, he said, will be handled by Conar, the SPA and, if relevant, Senacon under the Ministry of Justice.
A Constitutional Fight Over Who Controls the Message
The sharpest disagreement in the interview was jurisdictional. Lemos Jorge welcomed the federal government’s newly issued advertising regulations, calling them an added layer of protection for bettors and operators through mandatory disclosure elements. On paper, tighter federal rules and ANJL’s own position line up neatly.
But local bans are another matter. He described the municipal restrictions as legal misjudgements, citing Article 22 of the Federal Constitution, which reserves legislation on commercial advertising for the federal government. Consumer protection bodies such as state and municipal Procons have a legitimate mediating role, he acknowledged. Setting divergent advertising rules city by city, he argued, does not.
The consequence he foresees is practical and messy: advertising crosses digital platforms and broadcast signals that ignore municipal lines, so a fragmented rulebook produces what he called unprecedented legal uncertainty for operators. The self-regulation framework already exists in Annex X, developed jointly by ANJL, the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gambling (the institute behind Brazil’s responsible gambling standards) and the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar).
He drew a pointed comparison. The betting industry has run “play responsibly” messaging much as the beer sector uses “drink in moderation”, yet the scrutiny, he said, lands almost entirely on betting, as if compulsive behaviour began and ended there.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tax revenue Jan–May 2025 | BRL3.1 billion (~$620 million) |
| Tax revenue Jan–May 2026 | BRL5.89 billion |
| Governing law | Law No. 14.790/2023 |
| Pre-tournament rule | SPA Technical Note No. 3620, covering communication, advertising and marketing ahead of the World Cup |
| Unlicensed market share | Close to half of online betting activity, per ANJL |
The Offshore Problem That Won’t Go Away
Unlicensed operators remain the sector’s structural weakness. Lemos Jorge said their share had begun to fall but warned it could rebound if regulation makes the licensed model commercially unworkable. “We cannot let our guard down,” he said.
The enforcement infrastructure is taking shape. ANJL runs a monitoring laboratory in partnership with Anatel, the national telecommunications regulator, and the SPA. The facility handles monitoring, intelligence gathering and technical analysis, and now works as the central information hub in the effort against unlicensed sites.
Elections, Pressure and the Test of Resilience
The back half of 2026 belongs to the campaign. Leading candidates have cast betting firms as a convenient target, a pattern Lemos Jorge said began early in the year. His counsel to the industry was blunt: stay resilient, reinforce the commitment to ethical gaming, wait out the noise.
His bet is that integration wins in the end. Once betting is fully embedded in the economy and everyday life, he argued, it becomes a less useful scapegoat. The tax figures give that argument teeth. What they cannot do is settle the constitutional question over who gets to write the advertising rules, and that fight is only starting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Brazil’s regulated betting sector pay in tax in early 2026?
Federal Revenue Service data cited by ANJL show BRL5.89 billion collected between January and May 2026, up from BRL3.1 billion (around $620 million) in the same five-month window of 2025.
Are municipal advertising bans legally valid?
ANJL disputes them. Lemos Jorge argues that Article 22 of the Federal Constitution assigns authority over commercial advertising exclusively to the federal government, meaning city-level bans in Rio de Janeiro, João Pessoa and elsewhere risk creating legal uncertainty. The matter has not been definitively resolved.
What rules governed betting advertising during the World Cup?
Operators licensed by the Ministry of Finance operate under Law No. 14.790/2023 and SPA ordinances. Technical Note No. 3620, issued a week before the tournament, set specific requirements on communication, advertising and marketing.
How big is the unlicensed market?
Roughly half of online betting activity, according to ANJL, though the association says that share has recently begun to decline.
