Illegal Betting Sites in Brazil Kept Growing After the Official Ban

Brazil’s online betting ban did not empty the market; it mostly cleared out the licensed operators that paid taxes, followed the rules, and could be audited. Meanwhile, monitoring data shows a sharp rise in suspicious sites, cloned brands, and clandestine promotion across Telegram, Kwai, and aggregator pages.

1. Between October 26 and 27, after the licenses of regulated operators expired, the LegitBet monitoring system identified 820 suspicious sites aimed at Brazilian users and confirmed 440 of them. On October 27 alone, it detected 436 and confirmed 231, which is almost ten platforms per hour.
2. LegitBet’s database now contains 60,477 suspicious sites, and 34,134 of them, or 56%, have been confirmed through content verification. Between October 23 and 27, the system confirmed 1,452 new sites, around 290 per day.
3. The address patterns point to mass production. On October 27, 73% of confirmed sites had digits in the name. The same name appeared across 11 domains with changes in numbers, letters, or endings. Nine numbered addresses from 0 to 9 were registered within one minute, between 17:24 and 17:25. At 18:00, the system detected 152 sites in one hour. That same day, 272 old domains resurfaced; on October 26, there were 285.
4. LegitBet also tracks suspicious links circulating in monitored channels. Between September 1 and 23, the daily average was 64 links, with several days below 50. The shift began on September 24, when President Lula’s decision to ban betting was already public. On October 17, the number reached 777 links. In the seven days before October 26, the average rose to 375 per day, almost six times the previous level.
5. With licensed companies out of the market, clandestine advertising filled the gap. Users now receive links via Telegram, Kwai, or aggregator sites to platforms with no CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID), no address, and no identified responsible party. Among the confirmed sites are domains copying brands that operated legally in Brazil, variations of names approved by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA/MF), and names using words like “official” and “Brazil” to look legitimate. The pages offer PIX (instant payment system), registration with CPF (tax identification number) and mobile number, free spins, and “Fortune” games such as Tigrinho. Deposit bonuses, banned in the regulated market, are also part of the pitch.