Vixio: Brazil online market expected to hit $5bn annual revenue by fifth year

Estimates from business intelligence provider Vixio Regulatory Intelligence have revealed that the upcoming launch of a regulated online gambling market in Brazil is capable of generating around US $5bn in annual revenue. 

According to the forecasts from the ‘Brazil Online Outlook’ report, Brazil’s online gambling scene will quickly shift into top gear, reaching $3.7bn in annual revenue over three years from launch, eventually starting to generate $4.9bn when the market hits its five-year anniversary. 

Brazil’s Bill Pl3626/23 made several shuttles between the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies towards the end of last year before finally being signed into law by President Lula da Silva. Voting on the bill was first postponed in late November after some concerns were raised about the adequacy of the framework covering online gambling.

The Federal Betting Bill was once again presented to the Senate on 13 December, but was returned to the Chamber of Deputies for a second time after failing to reach an agreement on whether to include online casino games, which was opposed by Senators from the Liberal Party. 

A conclusion to include modalities to regulate online casino games was reached for the third time of asking, when a majority of 261 Deputies voted in favour of the decision, while 120 voted against it. The bill was then authorised and signed into federal law by Brazil’s President. 

James Kilsby, Vixio’s Chief Analyst, commented: “The move late last year by Brazilian lawmakers to add online casino games to legislation for sports betting should enable Brazil to realise its potential as a major market on a global scale, with the country set to join the UK and Italy among the largest regulated online gambling jurisdictions in the world while surpassing the likes of Australia, France and New Jersey in the near-term.

“That being said, the true size of the Brazilian market opportunity will hinge on a series of key policy decisions due to be made in the coming months, as government officials decide how to interpret various areas of the newly enacted legislation through upcoming regulatory ordinances.”

Vixio’s report, co-authored by Kilsby, highlighted that some crucial details around Brazil’s online gaming market are yet to be clarified, such as the permission of bonus offers, international operators’ presence in the country, as well as taxes attributed to player winnings.  

Mike Woolfrey, Vixio’s CEO, added: “Vixio has closely followed regulatory developments in Brazil for more than 15 years, and the online sector is rightly excited at the emergence of this major new market opportunity, especially after a series of false starts in terms of expansion of land-based casinos and bingo halls over recent years.”