São Paulo, September 2, 2026 — The North region of Brazil has an incidence of 48% of illegal bettors, according to the survey Incidence of Illegal Betting in Brazil, conducted by Instituto Locomotiva. The figure is the same as that recorded in the Northeast, also at 48%, and is lower than the rates observed in the Southeast, at 49%, the South, at 54%, and the Central-West, at 56%.
Conducted in May 2026, the survey interviewed 2,291 sports bettors and online casino players across Brazil. The survey defines illegal bettors as those who admitted to engaging in two or more irregular betting practices in the three months prior to the study. During the period analyzed, 53% of respondents placed bets on websites that did not require facial recognition, 48% used platforms with domain extensions other than “bet.br,” 37% made deposits using credit cards, and 23% used crypto assets.
The survey is part of the study Sizing and Combating Brazil’s Illegal Betting Market, conducted by LCA Consultores at the request of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR). Based on data from Instituto Locomotiva, LCA Consultores estimates that between 38% and 44% of the total amount wagered in Brazil currently takes place on illegal platforms, compared with an estimated range of 41% to 51% in 2025.
The decline indicates a reduction in the share of the illegal market during the period, although unlicensed platforms still account for a significant portion of betting activity in the country.
More details
See the study Sizing and Combating Brazil’s Illegal Betting Market
See the survey Incidence of Illegal Betting in Brazil
See the full press release