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ANJL: Ban on Licensed Online Casinos Could Double Brazil’s Illegal Gambling Market

By jili tutorial · September 25, 2026

ANJL: Ban on Licensed Online Casinos Could Double Brazil’s Illegal Gambling Market

Overview: The Stakes of a Potential Casino Prohibition

A recent study by Brazil’s National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) warns that prohibiting online casinos for licensed betting operators could backfire dramatically. According to the association’s technical analysis, a ban would likely drive the illegal gambling market’s share from 41% to 82% of total betting activity. This shift would expose millions of Brazilians to unregulated platforms that offer no consumer protections, no tax collection, and no oversight.

The ANJL represents legal betting and gaming operators in Brazil, which operate under federal authorization from the Ministry of Finance. Its study draws on domain monitoring data collected between June and September 2024, highlighting how easily illegal sites multiply and how deeply they are embedded in the country’s digital ecosystem.

Background: Brazil’s Fragmented Gambling Landscape

Brazil has a complex relationship with gambling. While sports betting was legalized in 2018 (Law 13,756/2018), online casinos remain in a gray area. The government has proposed measures to restrict casino-style games even for licensed operators – a move that ANJL argues would be counterproductive. The association points out that illegal gambling sites are already widespread, and a ban would only push legal bettors toward them.

How the Illegal Market Operates Today

“Our study showed that of the websites located outside the national scope, 55.8% use a distribution network that hides the original hosting,” said Plínio Lemos Jorge, president of ANJL. “And 98.3% of the domains are not ending in ‘.br’. Everything that is currently prohibited to guarantee the protection of bettors and their money will become widely accessible.”

The Dire Consequences of a Ban

For Bettors: Unprotected and Exposed

Brazil currently has over 25 million bettors registered on legal platforms. A ban would force these users to seek alternatives. Illegal sites offer no:

Example: A legal platform in Brazil must verify player identity, enforce self-exclusion lists, and report suspicious transactions. An illegal site hosted in the Caribbean or Eastern Europe does none of this – and if a player’s money vanishes, there is no recourse.

For the Economy: Billions in Lost Revenue

The ANJL study quantifies the fiscal damage: Brazil would forfeit between BRL 3.6 billion ($700.9 million) and BRL 7.4 billion in annual tax revenue. This money currently comes from licensed operators’ corporate taxes, licensing fees, and worker income taxes. Illegal sites pay nothing.

Revenue Loss ScenarioAnnual Loss (BRL)Annual Loss (USD)
Conservative estimate3.6 billion700.9 million
Upper estimate7.4 billion~1.44 billion

For Vulnerable Populations: Greater Harm

Lemos Jorge emphasized that the most affected would be the poor:

“The most vulnerable social strata, which are precisely the ones the government wants to protect, become even more unprotected.”

Illegal platforms actively target lower-income users with flashy bonuses, no KYC checks, and zero spending limits. In contrast, legal operators in Brazil are required to identify and block recipients of social welfare benefits – a measure that would disappear under a ban.

Why a Ban Might Be Proposed and Alternative Solutions

Policymakers have raised concerns about problem gambling and money laundering in online casinos. However, the ANJL argues that prohibition is the least effective remedy. Instead, they advocate for:

Counterexample: In jurisdictions like the United Kingdom and Malta, where online casinos are fully licensed and supervised, legal market share exceeds 95%, and problem gambling rates have remained stable or declined due to mandatory harm-reduction tools.

The Technical Reality: Why Illegal Sites Are Hard to Stop

The ANJL’s monitoring revealed that 98.3% of illegal domains do not end in ‘.br’. They use foreign top-level domains (e.g., .com, .io, .ws) and hide behind content delivery networks (CDNs) or reverse proxies. Even if Brazilian authorities block one domain, operators can spin up another in minutes using anonymous registrars.

Key barrier: International cooperation is required to take down these sites – a slow and costly process. Meanwhile, new domains appear faster than they can be removed.

Conclusion: A Decision with Lasting Impact

The ANJL’s data paints a clear picture: banning licensed online casinos would not eliminate gambling; it would only drive it into a dangerous, untaxed underground. With over 25 million current legal bettors and billions in potential revenue at stake, Brazil faces a pivotal regulatory choice. The association urges lawmakers to consider evidence from other markets before taking a step that could double the illegal market and leave millions without protection.