Brazil’s federal government stands to lose R$ 800 million a month after the bets ban

Brazil’s government says it will stop collecting about R$ 800 million a month after the announced end of bets activity, a number that matters well beyond Brasília: it is the kind of policy shift that changes how PSPs, acquiring banks, and compliance teams model regulated gambling exposure in the country.

1. The figure comes from the average monthly tax intake from online betting platforms. From January to August 2026, accumulated revenue reached R$ 6.3 billion. Since the regulated market came into force in January last year, total revenue has reached R$ 15.3 billion.
2. These amounts include the full set of taxes charged to companies operating fixed-odds betting, including Income Tax, IOF, Cofins, Pis/Pasep, CSLL, Cide, and Social Security contributions. The 2023 regulation initially set the levy at 12% of gross gaming revenue, or GGR, with earmarked allocations for different sectors.
3. The government now has to plug the revenue gap in the 2027 budget, which was prepared under the rules in force until this week. A law passed last year increased the levy to 15% in 2028, with a rise of 1 percentage point per year in 2026 and 2027.
4. Companies authorized by the Ministry of Finance also paid R$ 30 million in licensing fees to operate for five years. By the first half of this year, Brazil had 84 licensed bets operators offering wagering in the country, managing 193 active brands.
5. Those operators generated R$ 20.28 billion in GGR in the first six months of the year, up 6.2% from R$ 19.09 billion in the same period last year. Full-year 2025 GGR was R$ 40.69 billion. In the first half of 2026, R$ 2.49 billion was legally earmarked for public policies, including Sport (R$ 870.15 million), Tourism (R$ 677.52 million), Public Security (R$ 329.08 million), and Social Security and Education (R$ 493.84 million combined).