Survey Finds 77% of Bettors Used Illegal Platforms in Brazil, Putting Pressure on Regulated Operators

A new survey in Brazil says illegal betting is no side issue: 77% of users admitted to using platforms with at least one irregular practice in the last three months, and half of Brazilian bettors were classified as “illegal bettors” because they placed bets on sites without the bet.br domain or used credit cards and cryptoassets. For PSPs and operators in the regulated market, that is the part that matters: payment methods, domain controls, and enforcement are all in the frame.

1. The research came from Instituto Locomotiva and was published on Tuesday (11) by O Globo. It found that three in four users of bets, or 77%, had used platforms with at least one irregular practice over the previous three months.
2. The same survey classified half of Brazilian bettors as “illegal bettors” when they used sites without the bet.br domain or paid through methods such as credit cards and cryptoassets. In other words, the issue is not only licensing status; it is also about how money moves into those books.
3. The Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) said the numbers show a concrete and growing risk for Brazilian consumers and argued that the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) needs clearer rules to protect regulated operators. ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge said illegal sites do not follow the responsible gambling rules set by the SPA under the Ministry of Finance.
4. Jorge also said those platforms allow credit card use, pushing users into overindebtedness, and operate with cryptoassets, which makes fund tracing harder and supports money laundering. For payment providers, that is the familiar combination of chargeback risk, source-of-funds opacity, and weak merchant controls.
5. By July, the federal government had taken down more than 54,000 irregular sites, but 63% of respondents still believed the executive branch could do more. ANJL said domain blocking needs to be paired with stronger financial monitoring, accountability for payment intermediaries, and consumer education about the risks of unauthorized platforms.

ANJL was launched in March 2023 and says it represents its members, the sector, and responsible gambling in Brazil. Its members include Aposta Ganha Loterias, Fast Gaming, OiG Gaming Brazil, Ana Gaming Brasil, and Esportes.