Betano leads the Brazilian market with 23% of the grey gambling segment
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15 Sep 2024 •
Reading time: 3 minutes Betano is currently outperforming everyone in Brazil. With a 23% share of the grey gambling market, Betano is at the top. While Bet365 is hot on its heels with 20%. This is according to a new report from OpenBet based on figures from H2, a major consultancy in the gambling industry.
Exciting times: Brazilian gambling market to become legal in 2025
Betano may be the biggest in the grey market now. But everything is going to change from 1 January 2025. That is when gambling becomes legal in Brazil, and that means a lot of competition is lurking.
Local companies and large international players all want a piece of the pie, which according to H2 could be worth $10.1 billion in 2029. That is almost double what the market will be worth in 2025: around $5.6 billion. There are also rumors that Betano plans to enter the Belgian market.
Of that amount, approximately $3 billion will come from online sports betting and $2.6 billion from casino games, or igaming.
Sports betting remains the favorite in Brazil
When you talk about gambling in Brazil, it is often about sports. And especially about football. According to H2, sports betting will account for 55% of gambling revenues in 2025. Football will account for the largest part of that: no less than 86% of sports bets and 78% of turnover are about the game that every Brazilian carries in their hearts.
Approximately 50% of sports fans gamble weekly and 21% even do so daily. The rest bet occasionally, but less regularly.
What really stands out in the figures is that live bets are the big money machine. About 60% of bets come in during the match, while 40% are placed before the match starts.
Betano outshines Bet365 in popularity
Betano is not only the largest in terms of market share, but also the most trusted gambling brand in Brazil. This is evident from another study by Env Media. Betano, part of Kaizen Gaming, has built a reliable name among Brazilians and therefore remains the first choice for many people.
What will 2026 bring for the Brazilian gambling market?
Looking ahead, H2 predicts that there will be around 39 million active online gambling accounts in Brazil in 2026. This means that around 15 million adults, or 9% of the population, are actively involved in online gambling. For comparison: in the United Kingdom this is 24% of adults, while in the Netherlands this is 5%.
Brazil still lags behind larger markets such as the United States and the UK in terms of income per person, but if you look at income in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), Brazil is doing better. Gambling’s share of GDP in Brazil stands at 0.12%, higher than the UK (0.09%) and Mexico (0.05%).
Growing concerns about gambling addiction in Brazil
The growth of the gambling market in Brazil is also raising concerns, particularly about the impact on addiction. According to a recent study by Hibou, 10% of Brazilians have experienced financial problems as a result of gambling. Technology company Neccton, which specializes in detecting fraud and protecting players, is warning of the risks. They stress the importance of responsible gambling, saying that players who set limits are 18% more loyal. It also found that 90% of people who temporarily exclude themselves go on to gamble responsibly.
Setting limits and personalized warnings helps to reduce gambling problems. Neccton’s research found that personalized messages about losses increase the effectiveness of these warnings by 100%.