In just half a year, Brazilians bet approximately R$ 287 billion on legal betting platforms.
The amount is equivalent to about 3% of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the calculation is an exclusive estimate by Aposta Legal, based on official data from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF).
The nearly R$ 300 billion bet by Brazilians represents the gross volume transacted on legal platforms, including rebet money by players after receiving winnings.
Of this wagered amount, the Brazilian government highlighted that legal operators returned around 94% of the value in prizes. In other words, players in the legal market received around R$ 270 billion in prizes between January and June 2025.
This is one of the main advantages of the regulated market: the high return rate ensures most of the money goes back to the bettor.
According to the SPA, the 78 companies authorized by the Ministry of Finance, operating in the country under 182 brands, collectively reported R$ 17.4 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the semester. This value is what effectively remained with the operators after prize payouts.
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The number is impressive in scale: in six months, sports betting moved figures rivaling entire sectors of the Brazilian economy, making betting companies more profitable than banks and industrial sectors.
Brazil has 17 million bettors
At the same time, the sector shows a significant player base. There were 17.7 million unique CPFs (tax IDs) placing bets on legal platforms during the semester, consolidating Brazil as one of the largest markets in the world in terms of users.
Estimates by Feed Construct suggested that all of Latin America could reach 10 million bettors by 2029, a number surpassed by Brazil alone in the first half of regulation.
Part of the regulated market’s revenue goes directly to funding public policies.
Of the GGR recorded in the semester, around R$ 2.14 billion were allocated to areas such as sports, tourism, public safety, education, health, and social security.
