Brazil casino ban could double illegal market to 82%, says ANJL

ANJL says a casino ban could cost Brazil up to BRL7.4bn a year in lost revenue.

The hit

A proposed ban on licensed online casinos in Brazil could push illegal operators’ market share from 41% to 82%, according to a study by the National Association of Games & Lotteries (ANJL). The body found 6,409 illegal betting domains accessible in one week of monitoring in September, with 13.7 new clandestine sites registered daily between June & August.

Why it matters

ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge says a ban would drive millions of bettors to illegal sites, the vast majority hosted abroad & paying no tax. Those sites offer no self-exclusion or financial protection tools, he says. That leaves the most vulnerable bettors, the group regulation aims to protect, with fewer safeguards, not more.

The record

Illegal market share if banned	82%, up from 41% now (ANJL)
Illegal domains found in one week	6,409 sites, 11-18 September (ANJL)
New clandestine sites per day	13.7 average, June-August (ANJL)
Annual revenue Brazil could lose	BRL3.6bn ($700.9m) to BRL7.4bn (ANJL)
Domains hiding original hosting	55.8% of offshore sites (ANJL)
Domains not registered as .br	98.3% of sites monitored (ANJL)

What happens next

Watch whether Brazil’s government advances the proposed online casino ban, & whether ANJL’s figures feature in the legislative debate.

Sources: ANJL: Ban on licensed online casino could cause the Brazil illegal market to double in size

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