The Bet Legal platform reported a significant spike in the number of illegal betting websites following President Lula's recent prohibition on gambling in Brazil, with a total of 415 new sites identified post-announcement of the ban.
As of 6 pm on Friday when the ban was introduced, 295 unauthorized domains were recorded. Over the course of Saturday, this number climbed dramatically, culminating in 294 new illegal sites being launched. By Sunday evening at 7:10 pm, the total had surged to 710, reflecting a staggering 141% increase within just two days.
This analysis was conducted in collaboration with Iron Security, experts in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Their system employs a rigorous method of cross-referencing data from Brazil's Official Gazette, state publications, and reports submitted to Anatel, the nation's telecommunications regulator. They perform technical assessments to evaluate connectivity, secure protocol usage, and domain ownership.
From January 1 to September 22, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets submitted 57,691 addresses to Anatel for restriction, though these figures may not represent individual businesses, as one could oversee numerous variations of the same web domain.
The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) has publicly criticized the gambling prohibition, arguing that it does not eradicate the illegal market. "Without authorization, without the same regulatory obligations, and operating outside the scope of oversight, the clandestine market continues to find space," the ANJL stated.
ANJL President Plínio Lemos Jorge anticipated this surge of illegal online betting as a direct response to the legal restrictions. "The clandestine websites have expanded their offerings and continue to operate outside the law and oversight. They will now leverage the prohibition on legal betting to draw bettors into the illegal market," he remarked. He added that the government is missing out on billions in revenue while pushing over 30 million gamblers into illicit operations.
Following the enactment of Provisional Measure 1,394, the government took action against the illegal gambling sector by shutting down 506 unauthorized websites, an operation carried out by the Ministries of Justice and Finance. This initiative aims to curtail access to underground platforms and block new sites from entering the market.
Additionally, a task force uncovered 43 Telegram channels and groups involved in promoting illegal betting, which collectively host over 212,000 members. The Ministry of Finance stated that these efforts are part of a coordinated approach with various agencies to diminish the illegal gambling presence in Brazil.
