Brazil sees 588% jump in daily self-exclusion requests for regulated bets during the World Cup

Brazil’s federal self-exclusion platform logged 250,129 requests between 15 and 28 June, as the World Cup drove a sharp rise in users asking to block their CPF from betting with legally authorized operators. For PSPs and operators in regulated high-risk markets, this is one of those numbers that matters twice: it reflects both user demand for exclusion tools and the scale of exposure created by heavy sportsbook promotion.

1. Between 15 and 28 June, the Plataforma Centralizada de Autoexclusão, run by the federal government, received 250,129 requests for blocking or extending blocks. Once processed, these requests prevent users from using their CPF to bet with legally authorized bets.
2. That works out to an average of 17,866 requests per day. For comparison, from 11 to 25 May, before the tournament began, the platform recorded 38,907 requests over 15 days, or 2,594 per day.
3. The result is a 588% increase in the average daily number of self-exclusion requests, based on the comparison between those two periods. In absolute terms, the tournament period produced 211,222 more requests than the earlier window, even though the June sample had one fewer day.
4. The World Cup started on 11 June, but the data provided by the SPA cover only 15 to 28 June. The full tournament figures have not yet been counted, and the number of new users who signed up to bet during the tournament is also still being tallied.
5. Groups consulted by BBC News Brasil attributed part of the increase to bettors fearing they would worsen gambling-related problems during an event marked this year by heavy advertising from betting companies after regulation took effect in 2023. According to the SPA, the rise reflects a mix of greater public exposure to betting during the tournament, promotion of the self-exclusion platform, and growing awareness of the financial and emotional risks linked to gambling.

Representatives of the legalized betting sector, including the Associação Nacional de Jogos e Loterias (ANJL) and the Instituto Brasileiro de Jogo Responsável (IBJR), said the increase should be treated with caution and does not necessarily mean compulsive gambling cases rose in the same proportion. They also said the growth may reflect wider awareness of the tool, preventive use by customers, and the broader set of protection mechanisms now available in Brazil’s regulated market.