According to the latest data disclosed by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, within 180 days after the enactment of the law, a total of 157 companies were approved for operational qualifications nationwide, including 82 sports betting platforms and 75 online casino operators.
This number far exceeds neighboring Colombia (which issued 56 licenses in its first year of legalization), demonstrating strong international interest in Brazil's market of 215 million people.
The licensed companies show a clear regional characteristic: 41% are Brazilian local enterprises, such as traditional lottery giant CAIXA's brands; 34% are from European licensed operators, including listed companies like Bet365 and Entain (formerly GVC Holdings); the remaining 25% are divided between American companies (such as DraftKings) and Latin American regional brands (such as Colombia's Wplay). Notably, seven international giants including PokerStars are still in the material supplementation stage due to localization compliance issues.
The Special Secretariat of the Brazilian Ministry of Economy (responsible for gambling regulation) revealed to the media that it currently receives 3-5 new applications per day, with an approval rate of about 68%. Companies that failed to pass mainly stumbled on two hard criteria: one is the failure to meet the local guarantee requirement of 6 million reais (about 1.2 million USD); the other is the failure of their anti-money laundering systems to pass central bank certification. Licensed companies have already completed system integration with the Federal Revenue Service, meaning all their transactions are subject to real-time monitoring, including automatic reporting of any bets over 10,000 reais (2000 USD).
In terms of market structure, early licensed companies have taken the lead. According to monitoring data from consulting firm FECAP, the top 10 operators collectively hold 78% of the market share, with local sports betting platform Betnacional gaining 2 million registered users within three months of launch through exclusive partnerships with football clubs. Meanwhile, established European operators focus on technological advantages, such as the UK company Flutter's Soccerbet platform, which features AI-driven Portuguese real-time commentary, achieving a user retention rate 40% higher than the industry average.
