President Lula's ban on licensed online betting in Brazil triggered a sharp rise in unlicensed operators. Monitoring platform Bet Legal recorded 575 illegal sites operating on 26 September, up from 331 the day before the ban was announced — a jump of 244 operators, or 74%, in 24 hours.
Amilton Noble, CEO of lottery tech provider Hebara, published the figures in SBC Noticias Brasil. The weekly view is sharper: Bet Legal counted 102 illegal sites on 21 September, 331 four days later, and 575 by the weekend. "Almost 700 illegal sites in the last 48 hours. The illegal gang is rolling," Noble said.
Brazil's licensed market existed for under two years but had become the sixth-largest globally by handle, according to Blask. The ban came a week before the 4 October presidential election. Fabio Bolsonaro, one of the frontrunners alongside Lula, has historically backed legal betting. If Congress does not reverse the temporary measure in coming weeks, the ban may be revisited after the election — the industry's current bet.
For operators and affiliates, the picture splits: the legal market is closed, the grey market is growing. But working with unlicensed operators in Brazil now carries higher legal risk.
