Brazil betting operators generated BRL11.1 billion in government revenue across first nine months of 2026
Betting operators banned by President Lula in Brazil guaranteed a collection of BRL11.12 billion ($2.2 billion) between January and September for the government.
On Thursday, the Federal Revenue auditors Claudemir Malaquias and Marcelo Gomide presented the results of the first nine months of 2026.
The release of the results follows Lula’s ban on Brazil’s licensed gambling sector on 25 September, prohibiting an economic activity that in nine months guaranteed a collection that exceeded by 55% the value of the same period last year.
In the same period last year, BRL7.17 billion entered the government coffers from the licensed betting sector. The 55% growth shows the importance of the activity for the economy and for federal revenue.
The numbers already exceed the entire year of 2025
Throughout 2025, the first year with a fully regulated market, Brazil collected BRL9.95 billion. In just the first nine months of 2026, the sector delivered BRL1.1 billion more than in the entire previous year.
Despite the results for public coffers, Brazilian financial authorities claim the ban on betting will not compromise government accounts. Finance Minister Dario Durigan himself stated the ban will not impact the budget.
This week, the Minister of Planning, Bruno Moretti, admitted that the government is paying close attention to the 2027 budget in light of the ban on betting.
The total revenue estimate for 2026 was between BRL14 billion and BRL15 billion. The results for the first nine months of the year demonstrate that this expectation would have been met had Provisional Measure 1,394, which prohibited betting in Brazil, not been enacted.
Election speeches failed to address the loss in revenue
Even with BRL11.12 billion in revenue, Lula paid little attention to the sector’s impact on public coffers. In addition to the revenue loss, the government is already facing legal challenges to the provisional measure. It may also face compensation claims that could exceed 10 times what was collected this year.
Additionally, the income of illegal operators will skyrocket with the prohibition. The ban on operating without a licence doesn’t stop clandestine platforms from continuing to profit without contributing to Brazil. And they, in fact, will have their coffers fattened.