ANJL brings together industry representatives to discuss the security and sustainability of the betting market.

The paths to a safer and more sustainable betting market were discussed this Friday morning (14), during the seminar “Post-regulation challenges of the betting market”, promoted by the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) in partnership with Editora Globo. “This is an important moment for the industry, a moment of reflection on the daily attacks we are suffering. This event comes to strengthen us, to really reach the general public with the responsibility of bets, operators, social responsibility”, says the president of ANJL, Plínio Lemos Jorge.

Playtech's global head of Government Relations, Charmaine Hogan, opened the seminar by explaining how the most mature and transparent markets in the world's fixed-odds betting sector operate. “We navigated technical and political challenges. We learned that betting can have a stigma everywhere. But we always sought to work side-by-side with regulators. And we also saw that each market is unique, it needs tailored solutions. It's not enough to just copy and paste a regulation,” she said.

Professor Guilherme Mendes Resende, from the Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research (IDP), presented a study commissioned by ANJL that analyzes a survey by the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) on household debt, which identifies bets as the cause of these problems.

Guilherme highlighted three critical points in the CNC survey. “First, although the study mentions “causality,” it does not use a control group (counterfactual) design to compare users, making it more like a 'before and after' approach. Second, the study chooses a time frame of January 2023, but this is not a relevant moment for betting and is not properly justified in relation to regulatory steps. Third, even looking at the results of the two most important variables (indebted individuals and overdue debts), the effect of betting is not confirmed in these essential measures.

In the first panel, participants Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of ANJL; Giovanni Rocco Neto, National Secretary of Sports Betting and Economic Development of Sport at the Ministry of Sport; and the president of the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), Luís Otávio Veríssimo Teixeira, spoke about relevant issues in the "Second year after regulation".

“During this period, we worked with important partners and always with the social responsibility of implementing safeguards for participants, such as facial recognition, prohibition of minors, investment in research, contrasting them with the illegal market,” explained Plínio.

Manipulation of results

As a way to strengthen the fight against match-fixing, the Ministry of Sport will continue blocking the CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID) of professional athletes and also plans to create its own Macolin Convention, an international treaty of which Brazil is the only participant in Latin America, launched to prevent, detect and punish match-fixing and fraud in sport. According to Rocco, betting should be seen as entertainment and not an investment.

The secretary also recalled that the government created the National Policy to Combat Match-Fixing and trained the Federal Police for match-fixing investigations. Last month, another step was taken: the enactment of the law that allocates part of the resources collected by betting sites to Funapol (the Federal Police Equipment Fund), reinforcing mutual collaboration between the market and the Federal Police. "The allocation of 3% of the revenue to the Federal Police Equipment Fund is strategic for combating the illegal market, considered organized crime," the secretary emphasized.

The president of the STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice) emphasized the importance of differentiating between the regulated and illegal markets and the need for public communication to educate bettors. “The legal market and the STJD share an interest in combating match-fixing, which often occurs in smaller leagues and with unregulated operators. Regulation aims to make the betting environment healthier, recognizing its continued existence,” said Teixeira.

Tax Burden

In the second panel, "Tax burden and sector sustainability: challenges of a newly regulated ecosystem," the panelists stated that the projected increase in the tax burden on the betting sector in Brazil, which is already high, is incompatible with the consolidation of a legal, competitive, and attractive market for investment, and will likely compromise the success of the regulation.

“Many influential people in the market, economists, people who talk about finance, often claim that the betting sector would only pay 12% in taxes, which is a huge misinformation (...). The regulated betting sector pays, in addition to the usual taxes of a common company in Brazil, also a specific social contribution for the sector that is not 12%, it is 13%, and it will increase more and more in the coming years, in addition to the inspection fee, as well as other charges,” pondered the lawyer and head of the Gambling and Crypto department of the Bichara e Motta Advogados law firm, Udo Seckelmann.

Pay4Fun CEO Leonardo Batista presented comparative financial data to emphasize the importance of balanced regulation in the betting market. He highlighted that the sector's revenue increased from R$ 3,8 billion in the first half of 2025 to R$ 7,3 billion in the first half of 2026, a growth of 92%. By the end of 2026, the projection is R$ 14,6 billion, which would represent an estimated increase of 45% compared to the previous year.
According to Batista, the growth reinforces the need for caution in defining the rules for the sector. “We have to be very careful with that old saying about not killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The more we tighten our market, two things will happen: it will be directed towards the illegal market and, consequently, this revenue will be channeled towards illegal activities,” he stated.

Eric Brasil, director of LCA Consultoria, highlighted the importance of the so-called Laffer Curve, according to which an increase in the tax burden initially tends to increase public revenue. However, when taxation becomes excessive, the increase in prices and the reduction in economic activity can discourage consumption, decrease the tax base and, consequently, reduce government revenue. “The first group in society to celebrate a new barrier, whatever it may be, in the betting market is the illegal market. It is much easier for organized crime, it is much easier for illegal operators to compete in a digital environment,” he explained.

In the same panel, the complex and controversial situation of gambling in the country was discussed. According to the editor of BNL Data and president of the Brazilian Institute of Legal Gambling (IJL), Magnho José, the current negative perception of the sector and the difficulties faced by companies are a reflection of a long history of prohibition, coupled with a late and politically charged legalization process. Despite this scenario, Brazil currently has one of the most rigorous regulations in the world. “Brazil today is a benchmark; it is the country with the best regulation in the world. The most restrictive and controlling regulation in the world doesn't exist anywhere else. And yet, we get beaten down every day,” he said.

Player protection

The event concluded with the panel “Player Protection: New Mechanisms and Actions in Favor of Responsible Gaming,” which discussed existing protection mechanisms in the regulated market and the challenges to ensuring their uniform application.

The legal director of ANJL, Pietro Cardia, highlighted that the illegal market lacks mechanisms to address responsible gambling and operates outside the rules, while the legalized market is subject to clear and robust regulations and has been investing in artificial intelligence tools to monitor risky behaviors and carry out preventive interventions. According to him, the debate is not necessarily about creating new rules, but about the level of oversight and compliance within the regulated market.

In the same discussion, ANJL's legal advisor and founding partner of BetLaw, Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire, emphasized that Law No. 14.790/2023 and subsequent regulations established a "duty of care" for operators, who must use artificial intelligence tools to anticipate and identify risk situations related to gambling addiction and indebtedness.

Juliana Albuquerque, executive vice-president of the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), gave an assessment of the recent changes mandated by the Ministry of Finance regarding advertising in the betting market, which will require clearer warnings to bettors about the risks associated with gambling.

According to the executive, information about the impacts of advertising activities is necessary. “This also provides peace of mind to the advertiser because the consumer will make an informed decision. They know that it has an impact, that a gamble is not an investment, that it can generate financial loss and dependence,” said Albuquerque, highlighting, however, that the novelty was the content of the phrases, since the warnings themselves were already foreseen in the sector's regulatory law and also in Annex X of the Brazilian Code of Advertising Self-Regulation, developed in conjunction with ANJL.

About ANJL
Launched in March 2023, the National Association of Games and Lotteries defends the interests of its members, the sector, and responsible and ethical gaming, always guided by the encouragement of sports, the security of bets, and the contribution to the country's economic development. Among its members are: Aposta Ganha Loterias, Fast Gaming, OiG Gaming Brazil, Ana Gaming Brasil, Esportes Gaming Brasil, SPRBT Interactive Brasil, Defy, LBBR Aposta de Quota Fixa, Lucky Gaming, Reals Brasil, Gamewiz Brasil, BETBR Loterias, Versus Brasil, SorteNaBet Gaming Brasil, Blow Marketplace, Sistema Lotérico de Pernambuco, Vanguard Entretenimento Brasil, Hiper Bet Tecnologia, Pocket Games, ODDSGATE Brasil, Upbet Brasil, EB Intermediações, Big Brazil Tecnologia e Loteria, and EBAC.