IBIA warns Brazil's betting ban will cut sports integrity monitoring, sponsorship and tax income

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has published a report on the economic and societal impact of the online betting ban announced in Brazil by President Lula da Silva on 25 September. The association, whose membership consists largely of betting operators, says the ban will have serious consequences for sport in the country.

Central to the IBIA's argument is integrity monitoring. The body expects the bulk of Brazilian betting to move to offshore firms, projecting that around 60% of spend, about R$25bn, will go that way. Reports from SBC Noticias Brasil indicated that the number of illegal iGaming operators rose from 331 to 575 in the first 24 hours after the announcement. If the regulated market disappears, the IBIA says it will no longer be able to monitor it. In 2025, the first year of regulated betting in Brazil, it flagged 25 suspicious alerts in Brazilian sport, including 19 in football and five in basketball.

The IBIA adds that law enforcement and regulators will lose access to market data and customer account trails that support investigations into illicit betting and match fixing. Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, CEO of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance, made a similar case at the SBC Summit in Lisbon, saying that dismantling the regulated market is not the answer and that the state must act with evidence, proportionality and a credible transition.

Sponsorship is another area of concern. Of the 20 clubs in Brazil's top-flight Serie A, 14 have an active deal with a betting company, including front-of-shirt arrangements such as Betano with Flamengo. Galapagos Capital figures cited in the report put sponsorship at 24% of clubs' commercial revenue in 2025.

The government also stands to lose income. Gross gambling revenue was taxed at 13% when the ban was announced, with a rise to 18% planned by 2028, and more than R$8.7bn in betting taxes was declared in the first half of 2025.

All regulated betting has effectively ended, after an injunction that allowed Stake to keep operating until 25 October lapsed earlier this week. The election run-off on 25 October may prove decisive. Opposition candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, who had previously considered a ban himself, has since called Lula's move a political play and suggested he could be open to the industry returning in some form.